When it comes to website ranking and attracting traffic we all know that content is king. Nothing can substitute good quality content.
Whatever method you decide to use to attract traffic the creation of good quality content must be on top of your list.
There are many methods out there that can be employed, and as usual, some of them come at a huge cost and I guess there is no guarantee that you will get the desired results.
If you can afford to hire someone to help you well and good but if you are on a small budget like me, not all is gloomy.
There are as many free effective methods as there are paid ones; you just have to find the right mix. A good website is one that has a mix of good content and is user friendly.
Studies show that a website that loads quicker has a higher chance of retaining traffic and google also considers faster-performing sites when doing web ranking.
Here are the tools I use for my website:-
WordPress
WordPress is a Content Management System and a good one for that matter. With WordPress, you can create all sorts of websites including responsive high-performance mobile-friendly sites.
I have been using WordPress to build websites for more than 10 years. It’s free and is widely used.
WordPress accounts for 43% of websites on the internet and most hosting service providers have developed dedicated WordPress services.
It is a user-friendly CMS with a very large and supportive community. You get to access over 55,000 free plugins for almost anything to help customise your site.
The beauty with WordPress is that you do not need to have any coding knowledge to build a reasonably fair looking website.
LiteSpeed Cache
LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress is an all-in-one site acceleration plugin, featuring an exclusive server-level cache and a collection of optimisation features.
LiteSpeed Cache includes additional optimization features, such as Database Optimization, Minification and Combination of CSS and JS files, HTTP/2 Push, CDN Support, Browser Cache, Object Cache, Lazy Load for Images, and Image Optimization!
To get full benefits on installation and how best to use the plugin read the beginners guide and follow the instructions thereon.
On this site, I use LiteSpeed Cache and so far so good. The results have been impressive. And yes this is also another free tool.
Rank Math SEO
Rank Math helps you get ranked higher by making your website SEO-friendly and your content worthy of featured Position.
Rank Math SEO is a search engine optimisation plugin. It is loaded with so many easy to use tools.
The constant process of optimizing your posts can sometimes take more time than actually writing the content.
If you always feel that you can do more on the SEO front for your website but don’t have the time, then Rank Math SEO is what you’re looking for.
With tools such as Analytics, Content AI, Image SEO, Link Counter, Instant Indexing, SEO Analysis, Sitemap and many free features, surely this is a must-have plugin.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare takes your WordPress site performance to another level. Cloudflare is a global network designed to make everything you connect to the Internet secure, private, fast, and reliable.
Cloudflare can be used with LiteSpeed Cache. Simply follow the instruction on how to configure LiteSpeed Cache with Cloudflare.
I am content with the free service that has tremendously improved my site speed and overall performance, thanks to the CDN and fast easy to use DNS.
Jetpack
This is a plugin that enhances site security and improves performance among many other things.
Jetpack is loaded with some very useful tools for sharing articles onto your social media platform which can be used to grow your website traffic.
If you scroll to the bottom of this site you will find the share button by Jetpack. You find essential features like brute force protection and downtime/uptime monitoring tools incorporated in the plugin.
This plugin is loaded with too many features. It is there important to take a keen interest in some of the features. I personally have not used the SEO features on this plugin instead use Rank Math SEO for site optimisation.
PageSpeed Insights
PageSpeed Insights uses lighthouse technologies and metrics that determine the performance of your website on both mobile and desktop devices and provides suggestions for improvement.
Well, you need some technical knowledge to resolve some issues but by and large, you get to know what the issues are.
It is one of the top recommended tools to use as it is a product of Google. The reports are so detailed.
The audits carried out are separated into 3 sections including:-
- Opportunities provide suggestions on how to improve the page’s performance metrics. Each suggestion in this section estimates how much faster the page will load if the improvement is implemented.
- Diagnostics provide additional information about how a page adheres to best practices for web development.
- Passed Audits indicates the audits that have been passed by the page.
Your aim is to have a score of 90-100. This is a good score to achieve. The higher your score the better the performance of your site.
As can be seen with my website it has been consistently testing above 90 for the last month after tuning it up.
GTmetrix
GTmetrix is another free measuring tool. There is both a paid and free subscription. As can be seen, my website is performing well above average in terms of loading speed.
I am currently on the free plan. The slight advantage that this service has is that you can use it to monitor your website uptime.
I have configured my site in such a way that I get an email when certain parameters are met.
GTmetrix’s Report Page neatly summarizes your page performance based on key indicators of page load speed.
Conclusion
I don’t believe that there is a one size fits all when it comes to website Search Engine Optimisation. The best way to improve your website is to strike a balance between SEO and writing content for humans.
In as much as you need to optimise your site, you must bear in mind that you are creating content that adds value to humans and not computers.