Having a website is one thing, but getting it found is completely different. I explain below how to use RankMath to help with your on page SEO but it’s not all about on page SEO; there are many important things that contribute to getting your website found (also known as SEO or Search Engine Optimisation) including:
- having links to your website from other sites (“backlinks”)
- having a fast website
- your website being fully responsive and working well on mobiles as well as computers
- your site having minimal errors such as broken links or redirects
- relevant content
- on page SEO including headers, meta information, alt tags and inclusion of keywords
- submitting your site to search engines
All websites that I build are responsive and I spend time during each build process to make sure that they performing well from a speed perspective. I also run a site audit that checks for errors so that I can fix anything before a project is signed off. I also install a plugin called RankMath to help with the on page SEO which is what I want to explain here. The scope of your project may or may not include me optimising each page for SEO; if it doesn’t there is nothing to stop you from doing it yourself using RankMath to help you. I’ve created my top tips for how to use RankMath below to get you started.
1. Choose a keyword
First write down a list of keywords or phrases that you think people might search for when they are looking for the services that you offer. For example, if you are a fitness company you might include: fitness classes, how to get fit, online fitness, small fitness group etc. There are many places that you can check for keyword ideas and I will add a list soon.
2. Go to the page or post
Go into the page you want to edit and click edit page or Edit with Elementor (depending on how your website has been built and how the page or post in question has been created).
3. How to use RankMath page scores
You will see a score out of 100 in the top right hand corner of a standard WordPress page, or by clicking SEO in the left hand panel in an Elementor page.
4. Add the focus keyword
Choose a keyword from your list (step 1) that is most relevant to the page that you are in and enter it in the Focus Keyword box. This will change the SEO score immediately.
5. Check and correct the RankMath errors
There will be a list of items with either green ticks or red crosses next to them underneath your focus keyword. Work through the red crosses in turn to improve the score. This may include the focus keyword “not found” in your SEO Meta Description or SEO title. To fix these errors you need to click on Edit Snippet.
You don’t need to fix every error – there can be good reason for some of them being there – but if you work through the list and correct the appropriate errors, you will find that your score increases.
Quick checklist
Here’s a list of items that may be flagged up:
- Focus keyword in the SEO Title
- Focus keyword in SEO Meta Description
- Focus keyword in the URL
- Focus keyword at the start of your content
- Content length is less than 600 words
- Heading doesn’t contain the keyword
- Subheadings don’t contain the keyword
- No images on the page
- No image with the focus keyword as alt text
- Keyword density (the amount of times the keyword appears compared to the length of text) is too low or too high
- No outbound links are found
- Duplicate keyword that you’ve used elsewhere on your site
Rank Math is a WordPress plugin available for free or on subscription. If you’d like to find out more about how to use RankMath, visit their website here.
