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How to Start an SEO Campaign for Your WordPress Site [Screenshots]

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Going into SEO can be a scary thing, especially if you’re a new Blogger or Webmaster. To help make it simple, here is a guide on how to start an SEO campaign, written in plain English, and using an affordable tool to help measure, monitor and track your success.

How to Start an SEO Campaign for Your WordPress Site [Screenshots]To get started with your SEO campaign, you’re going to need to do some things. The first starts with the necessary Google tools you’ll set up and use. (Don’t worry, they’re free.) Then you will develop a keyword and content strategy that will lead into your link building.

We’ll help you with measuring and tracking your results, building your backlinks and then what to do to keep your website growing.

  • Index
  • Google Tools
  • Keywords and Content
  • Link Strategy
  • Measurement and Tracking
  • Repeat

Google Tools

Once you have your domain and hosting, you’ll need to install the tracking code for both Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics. They both have simple instructions for verifying your url and installing code. By going into the design or widgets section of your website, you can copy and place the tracking code in the footer of your website.

As you advance your SEO skills you’ll learn why these are important. You may also want to get a Google Adwords account so you can do keyword research for free using the Google Keyword Planner.

Keywords and Content

This is where you need to have a plan that is mapped out and stick to it. The first thing to do is write down 50 article ideas that can fit within the topic / topics of your site.

Next, log into Google Adwords (if you have created your account) and find keyword variations for the terms for which you would like to rank.

Think of three or four main keyword phrases, (i.e.“blue widgets”, “green whatzits”, “purple whoseits” and “yellow yesits”.) Once you have these, find 7 or 8 long tail variations of these phrases. To do this you can add on colors, words like “buy” before the keyword or add words like “online” after the keyword.

“Blue widgets” can become “Buy blue widgets online” or it can become “Where can I find the best blue widgets online”.

Editors note: From here on out we are going to be using UpCity as a tool to help with the rest of your intro to SEO. It is an affordable and easy to use tool that can help you save time while maximizing your efforts.

UpCity SEO Tool Screenshots

Keyword Report: keyword rankings by keyword phrase ~ click image to see full size
Keyword Report: keyword rankings by keyword phrase ~ click image to see full size

Now, take a few of the 50 article ideas and outline them so that they can be very detailed and informative pieces of content. By having these as high quality resources, you can create content that people will want to link to and share. When you have the articles you’ve selected, assign one high volume keyword from your list to each of the posts.

Make sure that as you write the content, you focus only one or two specific keywords per article and the variations of them. Those will be the only articles for which you should be trying to rank those keywords.

Now take the resources and link other keywords you want to rank for to their articles. As these articles gain authority, they will be able to pass “link juice” to other pages to help them rank.

Target Keyword Analysis Report ~ Click image to see full size
Target Keyword Analysis Report ~ click image to see full size

As you continue to write new blog posts and articles, make sure that whenever you use some of the main keywords and phrases, you link them to the page you want to rank for those phrases. This is called building an internal linking structure. You can also use modifiers to help provide variations of the phrases to the search engines.

You’ll also want to take these keywords and enter them into UpCity. You can always add more keywords as you want to track more variations and as your site grows.

UpCity will automatically track where your site ranks for these terms in Google and Yahoo/Bing. You’ll also get a weekly, color-coded report showing your site’s progress. I have two screenshots below from two clients using this tool. You can see their progress and also when we added more keywords.

Link Strategy

Now that you have your keywords assigned to your content, and you have your amazing content live, it’s time to build backlinks. Here are two very popular and proven methods to do this.

Link Requests:

  • Start by researching content relevant sites. (Sites whose readers and current content are all about the same, similar or complimentary content to the article on, or the topic of your website).
  • Draft an email that makes a unique comment that is relevant to only their site so that the owner knows you have read it. Then you have a few options.
  • You can pitch to write an article for them and reference your website in it.
  • You can mention “I loved this post because of XYZ”. I also found this resource on XYZ site (insert a link to your content) as well as this one (insert a link to another good piece of content you don’t own) and think it may be able to better help explain (insert topic from their post that you want the link from that isn’t sourced).
  • Draft an email with a direct request for a link and explain why. This tends to not work as well.

Directories and Social Media Sites:

You will want to go out and claim your social media profiles before someone else does, as well as find content relevant directories. A content relevant directory is one that only has outbound and inbound links to and from sites within your niche. If your site is about blue widgets and a directory links out to green whozeiwhatzits, purple doozies and something adult oriented, skip over it.

UpCity screen shot: Website 102: Top Web Directories
Website 102: Top Web Directories ~ Click image to see full size

If it only has competitors, sites with similar content, and doesn’t link out to adult, payday or pill sites, it could be a good fit. UpCity has all of this already built in for you so you can easily find, submit and track progress with directories and the top social media sites.

Below is a screenshot with the UpCity tools to help with creating, tracking the progress from submission to these sites and for when they go live. They also offer a giant selection of directories, social media sites and options across the board. It is up to you though to determine which ones are good fits for your business and SEO and which are not.

Measurement and tracking Social 102: Top Social Sites using UpCity 2
Measurement and tracking Social 102: Top Social Sites ~ Click image to see full size

Measurement and Tracking

Now it’s time to start measuring, monitoring and tracking your efforts. Although SEO can take months before you see any results, by having the keyword ranking reports mentioned and shown above, monitoring Google updates like Penguin and Panda, as well as keeping a record of which links were built and when, you can start to determine what is working, what caused rewards and penalties, and what you should continue to do, try to repair and what to leave alone.

The important thing here is to use Google analytics and sort by landing pages and organic traffic. If you notice a large increase or decrease, check the box to compare to a previous period and then see what pages were rewarded or penalized by sorting on the clicks or visitors columns. From there you can look at the links you built to the pages that gained or lost traffic, the copy you updated on them and either replicate the process to help other pages gain, or repair the damage if your pages lost traffic.

UpCity can help with this by including links in the sales CRM tools, as well as comparing it with the reports in Google Analytics mentioned above.

Repeat

Now that you know what is working and what is not, you have an easy way to see the results of your work. Start repeating the strategies that are helping you. You can write more copy, build more links, and watch as your website begins to climb in the search engines.

SEO is a huge and scary thing to try and tackle. Luckily, there are affordable tools like UpCity to help you through the process and get yourself started. By properly mapping out your content and keywords, creating solid resources and finding relevant sites to link into it, you will be on your way to helping your site rank better in the search engines.

Want to promote UpCity and earn 20% recurring commissions?
Click here to Join Now

Offering your readers this easy to use SEO tool is a good way to earn a passive income stream.

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Adam Riemer

Adam Riemer is a well known OPM (Outsourced Program Manager) for affiliate marketing programs, working with small businesses and brands to recruit and train bloggers interested in affiliate marketing.
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Comments

  1. WordPress Seo is the easiest way of doing seo but i made cms website which is very difficult for seo as i have to do everything of mine through php, But i can do whatever i want i made a website like examdoor

    Reply

  3. Thanks for the article adam! I wanted to know how to do seo for php websites without any plugin and how to rank higher..

    Reply

    • That depends on how your site is built and your databases are generated. PHP is not a good or easy way to rank a site. You should also never use it to rank a site.

      You’ll need to properly do your canonical links for paginated pages, products with the same descriptions, etc… If you’re using other people’s feeds re-write your entire database, reupload and rename all images, etc… PHP is a code to pull products and should not be a foundation to generate pages to rank in the search engines. It is also a huge pain to do for affiliate sites as well unless you’re able to rewrite everything and ensure the new descriptions do not get overwritten each time the merchant’s feeds update.

      I need more information than just a PHP store to be able to give you a real answer.

      Reply

  4. Hello Adam Riemer, well described SEO Campaign. The best part is the simplicity – anyone can apply the same principles and get results. As you pointed out, the part that matters is the discipline and consistency, two of the most difficult things to do as humans. I’m starting today. Have a Nice Day
    Girish would love you to read ..Best Whatsapp DP Love Funny Cool Love Sad Profile PictureMy Profile

    Reply

  12. Hello, Great post and You explained it clearly how to start with wordpress, I likes the link buliding part and have learned new things. thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

    Reply

  15. Hi Admin,
    Great post.Thanks share this information. I think It is most helpful.I made the first visit to this site today.I’ll visit this site regularly.Great post, I love this and will use all day.

    Thanks and Have a nice Day…
    -Hemanth

    Reply

  16. I am also confused in starting for my web as I am providing language translation services from the last 10 years. Now I wanted to get the things for my website as well. I can’t outsource it as I will do the same by my own only. so suggestion will be always welcome. Thanks for being together here.

    Reply

  20. Hi Adam,
    Its good to see websites like Upcity to cover up things. Tried it and found it quite useful for those who want to where their website lacks behind.

    Reply

  23. Great post Adam,

    I too believe that in this competitive internet marketing world of blogging and SEO, WordPress still the king of all other CMS platforms and here in this post you have mentioned quite a good tips to optimize wordpress CMS. What others believe about WordPress, Kindly share your views.

    Regards,
    Ovais Mirza

    Reply

  26. Hi Adam,

    It good to know that you’ve shared great information on how to enhance blogging through SEO as it is the most important factor to consider in the world of blogging. If I may say, having high quality content is also vital in building our blogs. Even how much effort we put to SEO strategies don’t work if we have poor irrelevant content.
    Well, anyway… thank you for this great post!

    Reply

  29. This website is very informative to read. I am a huge follower of the things you talk about. I also love reading the comments, but it seems like a great deal of readers need to stay on topic to try and add something to the original topic. I would also encourage all of you toI really like your blog.. very nice colors

    Reply

  31. I found much pleasure in this SEO araticalepare reviews. Thank you for giving us the idea of doing SEO. Pretty much your SEO tools. keyword content of the reviews I’m much better. Here are all the details of your SEO feels good. Thank you for publishing such a nice article.
    MD Raihan Hossen would love you to read ..Some Great Money Making IdeaMy Profile

    Reply

  34. Dear Sir,

    Thanks For Article. Your Article Is very Useful. I have Started SEO Work. I have finished My On Page Work. I will start Off Page Work.. But I do not know how to use Web Master Tools.

    Reply

  36. Directories are sick man i dont like it at all i have create blog for reciprocal links but they did not accept it for no reason over and all i like your strategy.

    Reply

  37. Content is most important thing but during onpage seo keyword in title is most important part. according to me keyword search is most important part. and googleadword is free and better tool for keyword research.
    http://skcgroup.in/

    Reply

  38. Adam

    After 4 months of SEO and using Webmaster Tools I am finally beginning to see what key words I really should be using. Holy smoke SEO takes patience and commitment. Adwords was my starting point four months ago. Now Webmaster is helping to refine the SEO.

    Jeff
    Jeffrey Schultz would love you to read ..Health Insurance Premium Tax CreditMy Profile

    Reply

  39. Spending time reading over blogs is one of my most favorite past times.
    Honestly I cannot remember where I ran across your blog, other than one of the many sites I peruse.

    Anyway, just wanted to tell you I enjoyed it.
    I hate when people read my blogs and do not comment. So I am making a point to let you know.

    Thanks:
    Kristina

    Reply

  41. Really nice as I also get known how to start my wordpress site & ranked on search page. Actually I am trying to get the language translation services from a company which is known for its quality work. I just found this Translator India which is really a good for quality delivery for document translation.

    Reply

  43. good artikel tanks for sharing
    @Cadd totally agree with you it’s really a great article! Specially @Adam congratz for your good work dear, you are going very good. Its really great campaign tutorial of SEO checklist for wordpress. 🙂

    Thanks!
    Altamash Sid
    (from Altamash Sid & Brands)

    Reply

  44. Hi admin,
    Thanks for sharing such an informative and knowledge material for WordPress and its seo campaign. I appreciate your work,,, keep it up

    Reply

  48. This article would provide the new bloggers a good start for their career in blogging.Thanks for the article

    Reply

  49. i was not well known Link Strategy thanks it was helpful content for me at least you dont know you guided me so well my search dint waste at all.

    Reply

  50. Good evening Adam Riemer,
    First of all thank a lot for sharing this step by step SEO campaign process. I really appreciate your work. I have a little question. In the screenshot you showed lot’s of keywords in planning part. Is is good to target many keywords for a single blog post?

    Sincerely –
    MSI Sakib
    Techmasi
    MSI Sakib would love you to read ..17 Ultimate Link Building Strategies for the BeginnersMy Profile

    Reply

  51. Hi,

    SEO is one the only method by which you can increase you business. I loke your post!!
    Those people looking for good IT Trainings..They can join us.

    Regards
    Prikshit Vashisht

    Reply

  52. Hi Adam,

    SEO is one of the most important fact for a website/blog. Specially, when we start a blog/site using WordPress CMS, we need to ensure that we did all primary SEO tasks properly.
    You mention here some important points that are really effective for modern SEO.

    Thanks for the nice sharing.

    Reply

  56. nice article added here, i love to read such article, coz this type article give me a new way to go ahead with my aim, thanks for sharing such article, enjoyed it lot, thanks again 🙂

    Reply

  61. We have been lucky that our sites haven’t been penalized by Google through the updates they have thrust upon the World in the last few years, but these are great tips, never the less. it’s interesting to see trusted Directories back in favour again.

    Reply

  62. thank you for the information, it’s easy – hopefully useful to us all the information at will,,, Good !!!

    Reply

  66. Never heard about UpCity tool before, but its certainly looking very promising tool for SEO purpose. Is there any trial period for UpCity?

    Reply

  69. Nice and organised strategy about SEO. I was wondering that is the equivalent UpCity FREE-tool, if there is any?!

    Reply

  70. Hi there, this very nice article which is a great use. It might be helpful. Thank you for your research buddy

    Reply

    • @Cadd totally agree with you it’s really a great article! Specially @Adam congratz for your good work dear, you are going very good. Its really great campaign tutorial of SEO checklist for wordpress. 🙂

      Thanks!
      Altamash Sid
      (from Altamash Sid & Brands)

      Reply

  71. Thanks for sharing such valuable tools man, Now I can utilize my stuff more effectively and can track all my stuff..thanks 🙂

    Reply

  73. I think what you have here is good enough for anyone to get started with SEO, although I don’t think it covers everything someone needs to know to truly know how scary SEO can be.

    Reply

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