This is the 3rd post in my Build a Better Blog series that will look at design concepts related to every blog platform including ActiveRain, WordPress, Posterous, etc...
Since I started talking about themes a few days ago in my WordPress in Plain English series, I've been getting comments, questions and emails asking "Which theme is best for SEO?".
There’s a ton of misinformation and misunderstanding floating around about “SEO friendly themes”, especially when it comes to WordPress. Today I'll try to clear up some of the confusion and mythology without getting too techie, too preachy or too boring for anyone.
The first thing I want to say it that there are no magic beans! No theme will put you on the 1st page of Google anymore than using a specific color, cool graphic or domain name. It's just another small piece of the puzzle.
It would actually be really, really difficult these days for you to find a theme that is not labeled as SEO optimized or SEO friendly.
If you Google the phrase SEO optimized theme you'll find thousands of them...
Even if you look at ActiveRain's outside blogs, they're also listed as 100% SEO optimized...
The simplest way I can explain what that means without getting all techie is that...
- it's coded in the most efficient, compact and clean way possible
- uses strict semantic markup or in English... adheres to current web standards for CSS, HTML, etc.
- proper element order, i.e. to search engines the content appears before the sidebar, etc... no matter how the actual theme looks (the layout)
- the theme uses lots of clean, simple navigation like breadcrumb trails
There is more to it but that is the plain English version.
When people ask me about SEO I tell them to think of it as getting into shape. If you want to lose 20, 50 or more pounds, it's not going to happen overnight. Once you've made the decision to get into shape it will take time, you'll have to work hard and once you get into shape, you'll have to keep working out and eating properly to stay in shape.
It's the same with SEO. An optimized theme is just a very small part of the overall picture, it's not a magic bean that will somehow get you to page 1 of Google.
At best, an SEO friendly theme will give you a slight advantage but this term has been so over-hyped and has been taken way out of context.
If you spend most of your time writing quality, on topic, frequently updated content, any SEO optimized theme will be like the cherry on the cake. So spend your time where you'll get the most benefit... consistently building quality content and relevant back links.
If you're confused about anything or if you have any questions about this tutorial, just ask me in the comments.
If you have additional topics you'd like to see covered or would like more information about custom graphics, themes or to book a 1 on 1 consultation to create or customize your WordPress or ActiveRain blogs, you can reach me here Later...
For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com
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