WordPress Blog Formatting – Do’s and Dont’s

One of the key benefits of the WordPress platform is that once the foundation of your WordPress site is developed, you can easily add new content as a blog post, without being a web developer, graphic designer, or programmer. But, there are some best practices when formatting your WordPress blog posts that can help you to look more professional, drive traffic to other areas of your website, and get better SEO results.

WordPress Do’s:

• DO- Make your title interesting, but descriptive.
• DO- Add internal links to other parts of your website.
• DO- Add external links to other websites in a new window/tab, as appropriate.
• DO- Add a photo and a descriptive, keyword-rich alt tag.
• DO- Add quotes (block quotes too) from people when appropriate.
• DO- Write a meta title tag that is keyword rich and will grab attention on a SERP.
• DO- Embed videos, slide shows, or other media when appropriate.
• DO- Encourage comments or create another call-to-action.
• DO- Make your photos link directly to a related page when appropriate.
• DO- Use headlines and sub-headlines to organize your ideas.
• DO- Encourage guest writers if it is a good fit.
• DO- Encourage the use of gravatars.
• DO- Write evergreen content that does not date itself quickly.
• DO- Add multiple engaging photos if you are aiming to be “pinned”.
• DO- Create a schedule and plan for your blog, both long-term and short-term.
• DO- Edit your permalinks as needed, to be shorter and more concise.
• DO- Insert a “more” tag if your blog post is long.
• DO- Proofread, test links, preview, repeat.
• DO- Blog to educate, entertain, tell stories, answer questions, and inspire.

WordPress Dont’s

• DON’T- Reproduce someone else’s writing giving credit.
• DON’T- Grab random photos off Google. Make sure the photo is public domain, has the appropriate Creative Commons license, or is your own.
• DON’T- Write meta title tags or meta descriptions that are too long.
• DON’T- Add too many (or too little) categories or tags to your blog post.
• DON’T- Forget to look at your Google Analytics to see what people are searching for and reading.
• DON’T- Lose focus on what your  customers really want to read about.
• DON’T- Copy text into WordPress without using the “Paste as Plain Text” button.
• DON’T- Use your blog primarily for selling.

What other do’s and dont’s for blogging or WordPress do you practice? What else would you add to this list? If you have questions about how to do any of the suggestions above, please leave us a comment below.

Happy WordPressing!