How to Optimize WordPress

How to Optimize a WordPress Site the BlogKing :roll: way.

This will be a constantly updated resource page for all the plugins and methods I am using to optimize WordPress for my clients sites.

Don’t you want this level of attention paid to YOUR
service or product marketing site?

1. Market Research

Picking a domain, if you don’t have one and researching Keyword traffic and competition.

This is a critical first step. Don’t rush this, because decisions made here can’t be easily changed.

I use Market Samurai for this critical task. A highly recommended tool and there are no monthly fees just a one time purchase.

2. Site Setup

I set you up on Hostgator. I can also create one or more email accounts and get them set up in the email reader of your preference.

Install WordPress.

Use the one button install for WordPress. Create an administrator and user accounts that are securely chosen. Don’t ever use the default ‘Admin’.

Install a theme. I have been really liking the quality, features and support of WooThemes.

We will pick one that is a good fit for your offerings, and then I will customize the colors, fonts, layout, header and more to appeal to your target audience.

Permalinks
Set to www.yoursitename.com/’post or page title’

Create site title and tagline, thinking with a marketing hat on.

Set up initial categories.

Set up your static home page and blog page. The blog is never the home page; you want your best positioning material on the home page.

3. Enhancement with Plug-ins

  • Backup, Maintenance & Security

Akismet, WP-DBManger, WP Security Scan, Maintenance mode

  • Search Engine Optimization

WordPress SEO(includes xml sitemap), SEO slugs

  • Analytics

Google Analytics for WordPress, Analytics 360, General stats

  • Editor Enhancements

Zemanta, After the Deadline, TinyMCE Advanced

  • Admin Enhancements

Admin Show Sticky, Plugin Central, Revision Control, WPhone

  • Social Media Integration

AddThis, FaceBook Comments, LikeButton for WordPress,

  • Site Performance

W3 Total Cache, WP Smushit

  • Design Tweaks

WP Google Fonts, WP Touch, Audio Player, Shockingly  Simple Favicon, WP-Print

  • Marketing Tools

YA Related Post, Popular Posts, What Would Seth Godin Do, Skype Online Status, Modal Dialog, Popup Dominator

Polldaddy Polls and Ratings, Feedburner, WP Customer Reviews, Cforms

  • E-Commerce

WP Simple PayPal Shopping Cart, MarketPress

4. Ongoing Process

  • Monthly detailed GA SEO reports and comparison with previous month and same month previous year

  • WordPress and Plugin updates, check site performance and fix any newly arisen issues

  • Posting new articles or seminar announcements if available.

You are welcome to do all this yourself, but isn’t you time better spent in creating content and serving your clients? Why not offload these tasks to an WordPress expert. As your marketing technologist, I’ll set everything up, train you where you need some guidance, and do the month-in , month-out work of keeping your site secure, updated, backuped and found in Google and other traffic sources. Trust me, you don’t want to do this yourself.

Lets get started now.