Yoast SEO: Routine Optimization for Posts and Pages

The purpose of this SOP is to guide you through the process of optimizing your WordPress posts and pages using the Yoast SEO plugin. By following these steps, you’ll improve your content’s search engine rankings, readability, and social sharing potential.

Scope

This SOP covers the essential aspects of Yoast SEO optimization, including metadata configuration, social share settings, readability score monitoring, URL structure generation, and creating effective SEO titles and descriptions.

Roles

Main Role(s):

• Content Optimizer: Responsible for implementing the optimization techniques outlined in this SOP to improve the overall performance of website content.

Supporting role(s):

• Content Creator: Provides the initial draft of content that will be optimized using this SOP.

Prerequisites

Required Resources:

• A WordPress website with the Yoast SEO plugin installed.
• Access to Google Analytics or another analytics tool for tracking website performance.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Basic understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) principles.
• Familiarity with WordPress and its editor interface.

Procedure

Step 1: Metadata & Social Share Configuration

1. Open your WordPress post or page in the editor.
2. Scroll down to the “Yoast SEO” meta box below the main content area.
3. Click on “Edit snippet” to expand the meta box options.
4. Enter a focus keyword or keyphrase for your content in the designated field.
5. Write an engaging and informative SEO title that includes your focus keyword (~60 characters).
6. Craft a compelling meta description that summarizes your content and includes the focus keyword (~155 characters).
7. Click on the “Social” tab in the Yoast SEO meta box.
8. Add a custom title, description, and image for Facebook and Twitter sharing if desired.

Note: Custom social share settings will override your default metadata when shared on these platforms.

Time: 15 minutes

Step 2: Readability Score Monitoring

1. Review the “Readability” tab in the Yoast SEO meta box.
2. Check your content’s readability score (indicated by a colored smiley face icon).
3. Address any issues or suggestions provided by Yoast to improve readability.
4. Aim for a green smiley face icon, indicating good readability.

Troubleshooting: If you’re struggling to achieve a green smiley face, consider breaking up long paragraphs, using more subheadings, or simplifying complex sentences.

Time: 15 minutes

Step 3: URL Structure Generation

1. Ensure your permalink structure is set to include keywords from your post or page title.
2. Go to “Settings” > “Permalinks” in your WordPress dashboard.
3. Select an appropriate permalink structure (e.g., “Post name”).
4. Save changes and return to your post or page editor.
5. Verify that the generated URL slug accurately reflects your content’s focus keyword(s).

Note: Avoid changing URL slugs after publishing as this can lead to broken links and negatively impact SEO.

Time: 5 minutes

Step 4: SEO Title & Description Creation

1. Revisit the “Edit snippet” section of the Yoast SEO meta box.
2. Refine your SEO title and description based on feedback from Yoast’s analysis (e.g., keyword density, length).
3. Aim for a green bullet point next to each element in the analysis section.

Troubleshooting: If you’re struggling to achieve green bullet points, consider rephrasing your title or description to better incorporate your focus keyword(s).

Time: 15 minutes

Step 5: Final Review & Publishing

1. Review your content and Yoast SEO settings one last time.
2. Ensure all readability and SEO analysis elements have green bullet points or smiley faces.
3. Save your changes and publish or update your post or page.

Time: 10 minutes

Key Points

Best practices:

• Consistently use focus keywords in titles, descriptions, and throughout the content.
• Aim for a green smiley face icon for readability and green bullet points for SEO analysis.

Efficiency tips:

• Use the Yoast SEO plugin’s suggestions as a guide but don’t sacrifice quality content for perfect scores.
• Develop a routine for optimizing content with Yoast to streamline the process over time.

Common mistakes:

• Ignoring readability scores, leading to poor user experience.
• Overstuffing keywords in titles and descriptions, resulting in unnatural-sounding text.

Safety & Considerations

Risks:

• Over-optimization of content may lead to penalties from search engines.
• Changing URL slugs after publishing can result in broken links and lost traffic.

Mitigation:

• Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that naturally incorporates keywords.
• Avoid altering published URLs unless absolutely necessary; if needed, implement proper redirects.

tl;dr

This SOP guides you through optimizing WordPress posts and pages using the Yoast SEO plugin. By following these steps, you’ll improve metadata configuration, social sharing settings, readability scores, URL structures, and create effective SEO titles and descriptions. This will ultimately enhance your content’s search engine rankings and overall performance.