Mashable, TechCrunch, CNN, Time, Forbes, New York Times; big brands yes but what else do they have in common? Well, all their websites use the WordPress platform. If you are thinking about building a website, the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, the content management system (CMS) for you to use. WordPress is not only used by these big brands for their popular websites, but it also happens to be the main choice for most bloggers.
WordPress in Brief
This popular CMS was launched in 2003 by tech guru Matt Mullenweg. Over the last 13 years, WordPress has grown to become the CMS of choice both for bloggers and SEO professionals. 74.6 million Websites run on WordPress with 37 million of these being hosted for free. The CMS boasts 160 million downloads and 65% of the Technorati’s Top 100 blogs run on this platform.
Why this popularity? Here are some thoughts from some of the best Los Angeles SEO gurus:
- Free search engine optimized themes: This is one of the major benefits, especially for beginners who don’t have advanced SEO skills. With over 3,000 free themes to choose from, bloggers and web builders are lost for choice. Once installed and configured, it is easy to maneuver the simple interfaces and customize your pages. The inbuilt visual editor allows anyone to easily create and publish content.
- Ease of installation and use: Forget HTML coding expertise because WordPress is a one click installation CMS which only takes 5 minutes to install. There are training tutorials provided and the active community is always on hand to offer support.
- Cost-effectiveness: This CMS is free and you can even download the software application in order to host it on your domain without accompanying license fees. You also don’t have to train your team on programming which again saves you money. There are free plugins to help optimize your website without incurring maintenance costs.
- SEO: This is the Holy Grail of online marketing. Also, with WordPress themes, you can easily rank highly by building an impressive website and also enabling easy navigation which Google and other search engines love.
It is not only easy to customize using the thousands of available themes, but you can also extend functionality with plugins and extensions. This CMS also gives you total control of your website.
WordPress Themes for SEO
Unlike a few years back when all you needed was a fancy website to rank highly on search engine result pages (SERPs), Google, Bing, Yahoo and MSN are now regularly updating their algorithms. This means the CMS you choose to use must be optimized for search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) is now the main consideration when you are choosing between different CMSs. One big advantage with WordPress is the fact that it can be used by both beginners and advanced SEO experts to create professional websites.
Using the available themes which are optimized for SEO, it is now easy to rank highly for your targeted keywords. These themes are structured to allow on-page optimization and enhance uptime. While WordPress is generally SEO-friendly, your choice of themes will greatly affect your ranking.
Top SEO-Friendly WordPress Themes
While there are thousands of themes available on the CMS directory, not all are SEO-optimized. Here are some of the SEO-friendly themes you must consider:
1. Magazine
This 3-column WordPress theme is SEO-optimized, and it is responsive and Retina ready. The theme from Themify works on all internet-enabled devices, and with Google emphasizing the importance of responsive web design, this is one tool you cannot ignore.
Your graphics will remain sharp on all screens, and you can also build complex grid layouts akin to BBC and CNN in a few minutes. Some features include HTML5/ CSS3 build, mega menus, 6 sidebar options, footer menu and widgets to mention a few.
2. Schema
Schema is almost synonymous with SEO on WordPress. It is one of the most demanded SEO-optimized WordPress themes and for many good reasons. It features SEO support and it is credited as the fastest loading themes in the market, which is a key factor in search engine result ranking.
It is easy for search engines to identify what your content covers which is great for search engines to rank you. It is built lightweight and secure code, and it is also HTML5 and CSS3 ready. If you are looking for a fully responsive and SEO friendly theme with built-in reviews, Schema is your best choice. It also features social media voting functionality and rich snippets for easy ranking of your content.
3. Genesis
It is a Godsend for bloggers and it is no wonder Genesis is one of the most popular WordPress theme frameworks. It is easy to use and its simple interface provides bloggers with the ideal blogging platform. It is also SEO-friendly and its classical blog layout helps blogging beginners to create and publish content hassle-free.
If you are looking for monetization, Genesis framework is also ideal for AdSense revenue generation. Its fast loading time is perfect for SEO and its neat and responsive code will definitely result in higher ranking. The easy-to-use package comes with all features which will not overwhelm you.
4. Extra
This is another popular SEO-friendly theme on the WordPress platform. It is ideal for those looking for professional websites with an elegant touch. If you are publishing a magazine, for instance, Extra has a structure that enhances clarity and visibility.
The content modules and custom widget support allow for easy customization and total control of your website. It also features browser compatibility, support for total localization, a responsive design and custom color support and homepage builder.
5. SociallyViral
If you want to make a mark on social media, this is the theme to choose. SociallyViral is not only impressive but also helps your content to get shared extensively. With Google now using social signals by websites in ranking, this is the perfect tool to help your website go viral. It boasts a clean layout focusing on content structure and presentation. It also includes attractive share buttons after every post which guarantees more sharing and higher ranking. SociallyViral is a fast loading theme which again improves your ranking.
There are many other effective SEO-friendly WordPress themes including Jkreative, Parallax, Best, X, Vellum, Revoke, Thesis, NewsTime, BlogSpring and Yosemite among others. The key takeaway is that you have to leverage an SEO-friendly WordPress theme to guarantee more traffic and better ranking on search engines.
The post Why and How to Leverage WordPress Themes for Search Engine Optimization appeared first on Cloudswave Blog.