http://softduit.com Slides from a mentored training meetup in Charlotte, NC presented by Brett Bumeter of Softduit Media

1. Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results #CLTWP Brett Bumeter http://softduit.comhttp://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 1

2. WordPress>Admin>Settings General Permalinks See link: http://codex.wordpress.org/Using_Permalinks Primary Permalink Tags %postname% %category% %post_id% Additional Permalink Tags %year% %monthnum% %day% %hour% %minute% %second% %postname% %post_id% %category% %tag% %author% Src: http://bit.ly/c2GZog Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 2

3. WordPress>Admin>Settings (2) Reading Writing One of the keys to SEO is publishing more content. I set up all my sites such that I or my clients can access the sites using Windows Live Writer (free desktop program) that makes it very easy and fast to publish or edit content on any major CMS system like WordPress. Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 3

4. WordPress>Admin>Settings (3) Privacy Its simple but don’t forget to turn off the privacy WHEN you are ready to make your site public to the search engines. Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 4

5. Plugins>Add New>Search SEO Automatic Core Tweaks HeadSpace2 SEO Are Meta Tags important? Answer: Yes and No All in One SEO Pack PS Auto Sitemap Google XML Sitemaps Redirection Search Everything Yet Another Related Posts Plugin Source: Casie Gillette Boston Wordcamp - http://www.slideshare.net/Casieg/wordcamp-boston-2010-seo-101 Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 5

6. Plugins>Add New>Search (2) SEO Super Comments Powerful pluginon heavily commented site but still very young, be prepared to hack and monitor results More Plugins Yoast Breadcrumbs Robots Meta Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 6

7. Themes Code must be valid both html and css http://validator.w3.org/ http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ Advanced: Use the Log Validator - checks html/css, links and logs Themes with invalid (broken) code might be viewable to you and your viewers but might turn away Google Bot Title Tag <title></title> Source: Justin Briggs Podcamp Nashville - http://www.slideshare.net/seozombie/podcamp-nashville-wordpress-seo Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 7

8. Content The best form SEO requires writing Posts! The more you write, the better you write, the better you organize your writing, the better your SEO results will be. Cross Link inside articles both to your articles and to other sites Source: Casie Gillette Boston Wordcamp - http://www.slideshare.net/Casieg/wordcamp-boston-2010-seo-101 Source: Joost De ValkWordCamp Ireland http://www.slideshare.net/jdevalk/wordcamp-ireland-40-tips-for-wordpress-optimization Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 8

9. Images Make sure you tag Images with descriptive text in the alt tags Make sure text in images is not blurry! Google can index images now! Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 9

10. Video Include a link in the description of YouTube videos in the first line to your site or article. Make sure video includes text, even if its just a title slide with good keywords. Google can read/index text in video now! Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 10

11. Load Times Google has indicated that page load times may play a factor in results listings All things being the same if your site loads slower than a competitor's site, you may find your site lower than your competitors We will cover speeding up WordPress, your site and your blog post articles and images in a future session. How to Speed up Artisteer WordPress Theme Load Times Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 11

12. How to Stay on Top of New SEO Trends for WordPress Simply keep up with new presentations coming out on Slideshare. (www.slideshare.com ) Pay close attention to WordCamps and Barcamps. http://www.slideshare.net/FrankPrendergast/wordpress-as-cms-wordcamp-ireland-talk http://www.slideshare.net/jdevalk/wordcamp-ireland-40-tips-for-wordpress-optimization http://www.slideshare.net/seozombie/podcamp-nashville-wordpress-seo http://www.slideshare.net/parnellk63/wordpress-as-a-business-tool-how-to-get-started-2010-march-03 http://www.slideshare.net/logicbydesign/wordcamp-miami-plugins-for-your-next-client-project http://www.slideshare.net/catseyemarketing/word-press3-bears-version-2 http://www.slideshare.net/Casieg/wordcamp-boston-2010-seo-101 http://www.slideshare.net/Topheratl/wordcamp-atlanta-2010-advanced-seo-for-wordpress Other Resources http://mashable.com/2009/03/20/wordpress-seo-plugins/ Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 12

13. Additional Resources Mentioned During this Session Tim Ash's book Landing Page Optimization http://bit.ly/LandingPageOpt Tim Ash's company Site Tuners http://sitetuners.com Automated Heatmapping http://attentionwizard.com/ Artisteer - Design WordPress Themes in Minutes http://bit.ly/ArtisteerDiscount Brett Bumeter http://softduit.com http://twitter.com/brettbum - Configuring WordPress to Deliver SEO Results – Mentored Training March 2010 13