SEO Optimization of a WordPress Website with Shervin Sahbayi

Publication date: 08/21/2025

SEO: WordPress Optimization Checklist | 9 Steps to Rank

SEO-focused WordPress checklist to boost rankings — follow 9 practical steps and get a free consultation.

Introduction

To better understand the topic, let’s start with the question: “What is SEO exactly?” SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. The simplest and most precise definition of SEO is:

What is SEO?

The optimization of a website for its target audience and demonstrating its actual performance to search engines, resulting in better and more frequent visibility in search results.

Why is SEO important?

With the ongoing digitalization of our world and the exponential growth of the internet — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic — a website’s design and user experience are just as important for attracting customers as the location and interior of a physical store.

Good SEO for your website, which also enables strong branding, works much like a shop window: customers searching for your services find your brand faster than your competitors, gain trust, and enter your business. Once there, they feel reassured by a clearly structured and appealing environment, easily reach the desired product, and gather information from flyers on site.

Thanks to personal, friendly consultation, they quickly receive your service. The customer retains a positive memory of your brand, recommends you to others, and will make repeat purchases when needed. Neglect SEO, and your website can stagnate or even fail in a highly competitive digital market.

What is SEO?

SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization — the practice of optimizing a website for its target audience and demonstrating its real performance to search engines so it appears better and more often in search results. In plain terms, SEO helps people who are looking for your services find your site faster than your competitors.

A clear, well-structured site that reflects user intent and delivers value will rank more reliably over time. For beginners, think of SEO as the combination of user-focused content, technical health, and credibility signals that together tell search engines: “This page solves the user’s problem.” Good SEO benefits branding, increases organic traffic, and improves conversion opportunities by bringing more qualified visitors to your store or site.

It’s not one single trick — it’s a set of practices (content, on-page, technical, and off-page) that work together. Whether you later work as an SEO Specialist, SEO Expert, or within an SEO Agency, mastering the fundamentals will make implementing advanced strategies much easier.

Why SEO matters

With the world becoming more digital and internet usage growing—accelerated further by events like the COVID-19 pandemic—having a website with strong design and user experience is as important as having a well-located and inviting physical storefront.

SEO acts like the shop window for your online brand: it helps customers who seek your services find, trust, and choose you over competitors. Once a visitor arrives, a clear and appealing environment makes it easier for them to find the product or information they need, and friendly, personal guidance speeds up conversion.

Good SEO also supports long-term brand recall: satisfied customers are more likely to recommend your brand and return for future purchases. Ignoring SEO can leave your website invisible in a competitive digital marketplace and may cause your business to stagnate or fail. Ultimately, SEO is a core pillar of digital marketing and e-commerce success because it delivers discoverability, credibility, and customer acquisition continuously.

Start our free training

Now that you understand the nature and importance of SEO, we begin with our free training. This short course-style guide walks you through actionable, practical steps to optimize a WordPress site without jargon overload. The training emphasizes user-focused decisions: design for readability and conversions, organize your content around user intent, set up tracking and indexing properly, and build authority steadily.

Throughout, you’ll see examples and simple checklists you can implement today by yourself—even as a beginner—while also learning when to consult an SEO Specialist or an SEO Agency for higher-level strategy. The goal is to give you a clear roadmap: what to do first, what to monitor, and how to scale efforts safely. Follow each step in order, avoid heavy plugins that slow your site, and treat SEO as an ongoing process rather than a one-time fix.

SEO Optimization of a WordPress Website in 9 Steps with Shervin Sahbayi

1. UI/UX and Responsiveness

Design your website with the highest level of user experience and responsive design for all screen sizes. Proper UI/UX means visitors—on phones, tablets, or desktops—can quickly find answers, navigate categories, and complete actions such as purchases or contact forms. Avoid heavy, resource-hungry plugins so page load speed stays high; faster pages reduce bounce rate and help rankings. A clean layout, clear CTAs, and readable text sizes are fundamental. We’ll provide specialist guidance on layout choices, accessibility considerations, and responsive breakpoints so your WordPress theme serves users well and supports SEO goals.

Note: Avoid heavy, resource-consuming plugins to keep load speed high.

2. Install essential SEO plugins

1. Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights
2. Lazy Load – Optimize Images
3. Pages with Category and Tag
4. WP-Optimize – Clean, Compress, Cache
5. Rank Math

These tools help you measure traffic, optimize images and caching, structure pages, and manage on-page SEO settings. Rank Math (or a similar SEO plugin) is key for meta tags, sitemaps, schema, and integration with search consoles.

3. Connect & index with Rank Math

1. Google Search Console
2. Bing Webmaster Tools
3. Yandex Webmaster Tools
4. Pinterest Rich Pins
5. Facebook Business Page

Proper indexing and verification across search engines and platforms ensures your content is discoverable and that you get performance data and coverage reports.

4. Keyword research

List your services/products and unique features and organize them into main and subcategories. Example: an online shoe store
• Primary keyword: “shoes”
• Categories: women’s shoes, men’s shoes, children’s shoes
• Subcategories: sandals, sports shoes, formal shoes, boots, etc.
• USP factors (e.g., 3-year replacement warranty, value guarantee)
• Customer incentives (e.g., free shoe cream for orders over €60, 15% off second purchase over €100)

Use Google Trends for location data and search trends — e.g., June 2025: highest demand in Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen. Related searches: “Toms schuhe”, “sandalen damen”, “sommer schuhe.” Use Answer The Public to extract question-based keywords like “when”, “why”, “what”, “which”, “who”, “how”, “where”. Example queries:
• wann schuhe kaufen baby
• warum schuhe nicht auf den tisch
• was schuhe verraten
• welche schuhe zum kleid

5. On-page SEO

Rankmath settings in the page editor:
• Focus keyphrase: primary keyword (2–3 words), for example “Summer schuhe”
• Meta title (50–60 characters): keyword at the start, e.g., “Schuhe Müller | einfach günstig online kaufen”
• Meta description (140–160 characters): concise and attractive, e.g., “At Schuhe Müller online store always find the right shoes…”
• Related keyphrases: four sub-keywords with synonyms
• Schema: e.g., ItemList for product pages

Content and H-tag structure:
• Each page should have one H1 (e.g., “Summer schuhe”)
• H2–H6 for subheadings, at least 300 words per page
• Intro (50–70 words): include the primary keyword in the first sentence, state user intent and added value
• Each H2 section: 150–200 words, include semantic keywords naturally
• Multimedia: images (TinyPNG + WebP), video (YouTube embed)
• Tags and categories: create category and tag pages for 1–2 word keywords, min 300 words

6. Technical SEO

1. Page speed: quality hosting (e.g., A2 Hosting), HTTPS/SSL, lazy load for images
2. XML sitemap and robots.txt (Rank Math)

Technical SEO ensures crawlability, indexability, and user performance — all critical ranking factors.

7. Off-page SEO (Backlink building, DoFollow)

Note: Never create all backlinks at once. Build them gradually:
• Month 1: 4 links per week
• Month 2: 6 links per week
• Month 3: 8 links per week

Participate in forums and online discussion platforms and get backlinks through guest posts and listings. Methods and example sites include:

guest article platforms:

resume portals:

niche portals and creative platforms:

social media:

business directories:

Use URL shorteners to share links on social platforms:

8. Local SEO

A set of strategies and techniques to increase a company’s visibility in local search results. Local SEO helps your website or business appear higher when users in a specific region search for services or products. By registering on local platforms you not only make it easier for local customers to find you, but also strengthen credibility and branding, encouraging reviews and repeat visits.

9. Finally — build simple, standard sites on free blog platforms and publish articles there to get backlinks:

Top SEO Tools

1. Semrush

• • A comprehensive all-in-one SEO tool with a wide range of features.

• • Main uses:
    
    • • Keyword research
    • • Competitor analysis
    • • Backlink audit
    • • Technical site audit
    • • Rank tracking

• • Best for: SEO specialists, digital marketers, and agencies.

2. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

• • A desktop software for technical SEO audits.

• • Main uses:
    
    • • Checking site structure and URLs
    • • Detecting 404 errors
    • • Finding duplicate content
    • • Analyzing meta tags (Title, Meta Description)
    • • Evaluating page speed

• • Best for: Technical SEO experts and web developers.

3. Google Analytics (GA4)

• • Google’s official tool for analyzing user behavior on websites.

• • Main uses:
    
    • • Tracking number of visitors
    • • Analyzing traffic sources (Organic, Direct, Referral, Social)
    • • Measuring bounce rate
    • • Identifying popular pages
    • • Tracking conversions

• • Best for: Website owners, digital marketers, e-commerce businesses.

4. Google Search Console (GSC)

• • A free Google tool to analyze website performance in search results.

• • Main uses:
    
    • • Monitoring page indexing status
    • • Viewing search queries driving traffic
    • • Analyzing CTR (Click-Through Rate)
    • • Detecting crawl and index errors
    • • Checking mobile usability

• • Best for: Managing and optimizing a website’s visibility in Google search.

Summary:

1. For overall SEO analysis → Semrush
2. For technical audits → Screaming Frog
3. For user behavior analysis → Google Analytics
4. For search performance and indexing → Google Search Console

Conclusion

SEO is essential for effective digital marketing because it improves discoverability and trust. It is important for e-commerce stores, service businesses, and anyone who needs organic visibility; costs range from free (time investment) to professional budgets depending on scale. SEO work is carried out by SEO Specialists, SEO Experts, and SEO Agencies, and increasingly supported by AI tools for research, content generation, and optimization. For e-commerce, SEO directly impacts sales and customer acquisition; for broader digital marketing it supports brand awareness and long-term ROI. Click here for a free consultation today.

Detailed 9 Steps

1. UI/UX & Responsiveness — choose a responsive theme, test on multiple devices, prioritize accessibility.
2. Essential Plugins — analytics, lazy load, cache/cleanup, and Rank Math (or equivalent).
3. Indexing Connections — Google Search Console, Bing, Yandex, Pinterest Rich Pins, Facebook.
4. Keyword Research — organize categories, use Google Trends and question tools for intent-based keywords.
5. On-Page SEO — H1 in first sentence, meta title & description, 300+ words per page, schema.
6. Technical SEO — hosting, SSL, sitemap, robots.txt, speed optimization, image formats.
7. Off-Page SEO — gradual backlink plan (month-by-month), guest posts, directories, social signals.
8. Local SEO — register business listings, collect reviews, keep NAP consistent.
9. Content Distribution — publish supportive posts on free blog platforms and share across networks.

FAQ

1. What exactly does SEO do?
   SEO improves a website’s visibility in search engine results by optimizing content, technical setup, and external signals. The goal is to match user intent and earn organic clicks without paid ads.
2. How to do SEO as a beginner?
   Start with basic on-page optimization: pick a clear keyword, create a good H1 and meta tags, publish helpful content, and set up analytics and Search Console. Then learn technical basics like sitemaps and speed.
3. Can I do SEO for free?
   Yes — many SEO tasks use free tools and platforms. Keyword research can begin with Google Trends and free question tools; you can publish content on free blog platforms; but some paid tools speed up research and scale.
4. How is SEO a skill?
   SEO combines research, writing, technical troubleshooting, and strategy. It requires analytical thinking, understanding search intent, and the ability to implement and measure changes — all learned and practiced skills.
5. What is an example of SEO?
   An example is optimizing a product page for “summer running shoes” by including that phrase in the title, meta description, headings, product copy, images (alt text), and internal links — then monitoring performance.
6. Can I learn SEO by myself?
   Yes. Many practitioners learn via online guides, courses, hands-on practice, and by analyzing live websites. Building a personal project or helping a small site is a great way to learn.
7. Can I get an SEO job with no experience?
   Yes, entry-level roles or internships often accept motivated beginners who can demonstrate practical knowledge — such as improved metrics on a personal project, internships, or freelance tasks.
8. Which tool is best for SEO?
   There isn’t a single best tool; common favorites include Google Search Console, Google Analytics, keyword tools, and an SEO plugin for WordPress. Paid suites like Ahrefs or SEMrush help scale research but are not mandatory to start.
9. Can I learn SEO without coding?
   Yes. Many SEO tasks are non-technical (content, keywords, on-page optimization). However, basic HTML/CSS familiarity helps with technical SEO issues and troubleshooting.
10. How much money do you need for SEO?
    Costs vary: you can begin with near-zero budget using free tools and platforms. For growth, expect expenses for good hosting, premium plugins, tools, or hiring professionals. Small businesses might budget a few hundred to a few thousand euros monthly depending on goals.

About the Author

Name: Shervin Sahbayi
Expertise: SEO Specialist
Biography:
I am Shervin Sahbayi, born on May 9, 1996, with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology (IT). Since June 2015, I have been working in the IT field for over 9 years, and since January 2021 I have specialized for more than 4 years in web design, SEO, and general consulting in the fields of e-commerce and digital marketing. So far, I have successfully completed more than 5 projects in this field under my personal brand ‘Sib Tech.’
Since May 27, 2024, I have come to Germany with a work visa as an IT specialist and currently live and work in Bad Oeynhausen. The website www.IDME360.com is my first portfolio project in English, and www.DeutschlandSEO.com is my first portfolio project in German.

Linked profiles & sites:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/shervin-sahbayi
Deutschland SEO: www.deutschlandseo.com
IDME 360: www.idme360.com
Shervin Sahbayi: www.shervinsahbayi.com

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• Google Knowledge Profile (Author): Shervin Sahbayi
• Google Knowledge Profile (Book): SEO Optimization of a WordPress Website with Shervin Sahbayi
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• DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16916572
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© 2025, Shervin Sahbayi — Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0