OVERVIEW
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is key to helping your site get found on the web. To help you, Modern Retail uses the SEO by Yoast plugin because it it easy to use and enhances your Search Engine Optimization.
For more information about Search Engine Optimization, read Getting Started with Search Engine Optimization. |
Every page and post created should be completed in the SEO by Yoast section. A page without an SEO title and Meta Description is less likely to be found by search engines. While SEO by Yoast will complete these sections for you based upon your title and content, it may not pull the optimal content. For example, the Meta Description pulls from the beginning of your content - which may or may not tell your audience everything they want to know about you. Taking the few extra minutes to fill in this section on pages and posts is well worth the time.
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SEO Title – You have about 60 characters for your Page Title. Remember to use your keywords or phrase towards the beginning of the title for higher rankings.
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Keyword Focus – A few things to note:
- This section is optional - it is not required for SEO purposes. While it doesn’t show up anywhere in the search engines like your Title and Meta Description, it will give you an idea of how well you’re optimizing your site.
- You can only enter one keyword phrase here at a time. The reasoning behind this is that the creators of Yoast feel that each page on your site has one main subject, therefore one main keyword phrase. (Read more...)
- As you start to enter your keyword or phrase, Yoast will give you a drop-down of popular search words related to yours if you want to select one.
- After you enter your keyword or phrase in the Focus Keyword box and hit update, you can see the Page Analysis for details on how well your site is optimized.
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Meta Description – If you do not complete this section, Yoast will pull around the first 140 characters from your page or post. If you don't get to your point right away, it is best to enter your own description. For the best search results, use your keyword phrase at least once in your meta description. You are limited to about 140 viewable characters (this will show up beneath your Title in the search), although you can write more for search purposes. Be sure that the content that is viewable clearly states the information that your audience is looking for. Avoid quotation marks (“ “) and other symbols as Google will cut off the description. Single quotation marks (‘ ‘) are fine.
What it Looks Like
Once you've entered the info into the Yoast section and someone does a search, it will look like this*.
*Note: it may take a couple of days for updated Page Title and Meta Description data to show up in the search engines.
You've spent your time and money to get your website online; make it one of your business's best practices to always enter in the Yoast information, ensuring you can be found on the web.