Search Marketing for WordPress Blogs by Matt Cutts

According to Matt Cutts – Head of Google’s Webspam Team, if you want your blog to rank well on Google’s search engine you must use Wordpress. Matt recently mentioned at WordCamp SF that Wordpress takes care of about 80 – 90 percent of SEO mechanics.

He gave a SEO presentation that spans 50 pages and also gives tips on how to rank high on Google.

The two biggest ones are be relevant and be reputable.

Being Relevant

Google is all about relevancy, high the relevancy better the impact of your blog on search engines. According to Matt If you have a blog you need to answer basis about
Who am I ?
Why am I here ?
What do I love ?
What am I really good at doing ?
What do I have to say?

Once you’ve answered those questions and commit to exploring them via blogging, there are some technical things for gaining relevance, like keyword relevance. Choose words users are likely to type, and include them naturally in blog posts. For example, a blogger can use name variations referring to the same device: usb drive, thumb drive, flash drive, pen drive. Matt recommends ALT attributes.

Wordpress URL structure is considered as a high ranking factor in Google rank algo. WordPress default URL structure uses question marks and numbers, instead of day and name, month name, etc.. Cutts says these types of URLs improve aesthetics, usability, and forward-compatibility. For URL paths with keywords in them, Cutts says dashes (hyphens) are preferred over underscores to separate words, but no spaces between words is a bad idea (example.com/my-keywords).

Don’t overdo keywords in the text. Make sure they flow naturally. Otherwise, Google could bust you for keyword stuffing.

Being Reputable

Cutts recommends the following to boost a blogger’s reputation:

– Be interesting
– Update often
– Find your niche
– Provide a useful service
– Do original research or reporting
– Give great information
– Live blog
– Make lists
– Create controversy
– Meet people on Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed

Other Useful Information

Google crawls in decreasing order of PageRank, which means if a site has a low PageRank, it will be crawled last, behind sites with higher ranking.

Cutts’ simplified definition of PageRank is “the number and importance of links pointing to a site.”

Cutts also recommends plug-ins he uses for his blog, which include Akismet (a comment spam catcher), Cookies for Comments (another comment spam catcher), Enforce www. Preference (301 redirects to no-www or yes-www preference for link building), Feedburner Feedsmith (for tracking subscribers), and WP Super Cache (for fast caching).

Download the Search Marketing presentation from Matt Cutts blog

Related posts

Google’s Take on Mobile Search and What Websites Must Do

Google’s 19th Birthday Surprise Spinner

What You Need to know about Google’s Featured Snippets?

45 comments

Colleen@Kennewick Wa Real Estate June 16, 2009 - 10:33 am
This is good news coming from Matt Cutts. We are in the process of converting our static site to a WordPress blog. We are excited about the potential. .-= Colleen@Kennewick Wa Real Estate´s last blog ..Kennewick WA Homes for Sale =-.
Ben Pei@Make Money Blogging June 16, 2009 - 11:02 am
Nice stuff.. how you manage to get this?
ZK@Web Marketing Blog June 16, 2009 - 7:07 pm
The information is on Matt's Blog, you can download his presentation from the download link in the blog.
Joelchrist June 30, 2009 - 11:35 pm
yes...you are right dude. I have seen this info on Matt's blog. .-= Joelchrist´s last blog ..AJ Classifieds ME Version -Services =-.
Opticians job vacancies June 16, 2009 - 11:42 am
Very good stuff. oh, and yeah! Where did you get this?
Kit Homes June 17, 2009 - 11:43 pm
Its all from Matt's blog. that is also a great blog on online marketing. .-= Kit Homes´s last blog ..Are there any Exclusions? =-.
David@SEM Labs June 16, 2009 - 2:09 pm
I am surprised that he we endorse WP like this. However as open source goes WordPress is probably one of the best platform in regards to out-of-the-box-SEO. This one is better IMO though: http://symphony-cms.com/
ZK@Web Marketing Blog June 16, 2009 - 7:29 pm
I don't see any conflict in Matt endorsing WP, Google and WP work well together that is the big picture Matt wants to show to web business owners. .-= ZK@Web Marketing Blog´s last blog ..Search Marketing for Wordpress Blogs by Matt Cutts =-.
Ste@DS Bundle June 16, 2009 - 2:50 pm
Great SEO tips, direct from the source too! Thanks.
Tycoon Blogger @Blogging for Money June 16, 2009 - 6:43 pm
When Matt talks we should listen. Great info, I have not seen this yet. I need to make some tweaks to my url configuration .-= Tycoon Blogger @Blogging for Money´s last blog ..7 tools that will get you more twitter followers =-.
web outsourcing services June 17, 2009 - 2:20 am
I never knew that google gives so much importance to the wordpress blogs. Great insights by Matt cuts, thanks for sharing them.
Any Time Cash Loan June 17, 2009 - 2:40 am
I have a wordpress blog. I will experiment these things. I have not seen Mutt Cutt's post. Will have a look at that too.
medium readings June 18, 2009 - 10:08 pm
Have you visit Mutt Cutt's blog these all tips are there. you can find more then that.
watch Replica July 1, 2009 - 12:56 am
Many people dont know its some kind of help from ZK Thanks mate
Healthcare Clothing June 17, 2009 - 3:57 am
Wordpress is definitely the best programme for this type of thing, I think experimentation is the best way to get the best out of it
Business Gas June 17, 2009 - 7:13 am
That is a really great link. Thanks this is really helpful .-= Business Gas´s last blog ..Home =-.
Ajith Edassery June 17, 2009 - 10:58 am
ZK, Definitely valuable simple tips for blogging as well as niche marketing. Btw (off topic), I saw a glimpse of your blog on thesis theme last night. Why did you switch back to this one? .-= Ajith Edassery´s last blog ..Deep Linking - The most important aspect of Link Building & SEO =-.
Web Marketing blog June 17, 2009 - 11:14 am
Hi Ajith, I've been testing a few themes, just didn't have the time the other night to ensure that all elements were in place....
Bubba Moe June 17, 2009 - 10:01 pm
Its very informative and useful I know that its from Matt's blog. thanks for remember me for this. these are really very nice links
Camper Trailers Brisbane June 17, 2009 - 11:35 pm
I never knew that Google gives priority to blogger who uses wordpress. I find some interesting stuff here, it will be great experience for me to visit webtrafficro this time.
John Berry@Top Ten List June 18, 2009 - 9:18 am
Wordpress definitely is a great platform, automatic pings, trackbacks, great URL and interlinking structure are some things that I really like. With help of some cool plug-ins this becomes even better. Thanks for reminding me about 'Enforce www', I have been writing my own .htaccess because default redirects are 302 in wordpress.
medium readings June 18, 2009 - 10:05 pm
Yes your are right that wordpress is great platform, its have many automatic useful features.
Lena Steuern@ sicher Kaufen und Verkaufen June 18, 2009 - 1:16 pm
I've tried using wordpress for blogging and it definately seems to be simple, but with enough scope to do more complicated things - the fact that it is the best platform for SEO makes it an even better choice. I think if a blogger produces good content, regularly, uses just enough keywords and appreciates his readers, then ranking will come in time, right?
YingHang June 19, 2009 - 8:26 am
It's a very good post about SEO. I like SEO and SEM which raises my blog's ranking and traffic!
Blackberry Accessories June 19, 2009 - 11:07 am
I really love wordpress which has many custom features ...Impressive by mattcuts
Samsung Eternity Accessories June 19, 2009 - 8:57 pm
Word press is the best i ever saw ... one place i am getting almost all the information ...Good post ZK ...
free website June 19, 2009 - 9:46 pm
Very useful information and Impressive features by wordpress ... Matt some day i wanna meet u ...
game-girl June 19, 2009 - 11:33 pm
The info is very actual and can bring much profit to the readers.
Gusti June 20, 2009 - 9:41 am
Thanks for the free stuff and the useful info. Keep blogging...
gas card June 21, 2009 - 3:07 am
I've followed Matt Cutts for a while now, and he gives some helpful information from time to time, but I feel like most of the time his advice is more geared towards newbies. But from time to time he does get a little bit more advanced. I also like the Q&A sessions they started doing. -Randy
kitchen taps June 22, 2009 - 6:25 am
It is quite impressive whenever Matt Cutts gives some information and the sessions of Q&A is really good way for newbies too who really love to work on wordpress, blogger etc..
New Media Strategies June 23, 2009 - 11:26 pm
This is very good info ZK. Nice information from Matt... Now I have got to try more wordpress to get better rank. Thanks for sharing!
work at home June 24, 2009 - 6:42 pm
Wordpress is one of the best places to host or build a blog for free. I'm glad to hear that Wordpress is important to Google. A better reason to build a good blog. .-= work at home´s last blog ..Unique IP Class C Backlinks For Work At Home Bloggers =-.
Shawn June 26, 2009 - 5:09 am
Great insightful article, thanks for sharing. bookmarked your site.. and hey also opted for "The 10 Point Site Optimisation Checklist"!!
Chuggin@buy commercial coffee makers June 26, 2009 - 3:20 pm
you totally have to focus on the relevant of your site as well as keyword relevance to rank high with Google! you definitely need to use your keywords naturally in blog posts.
Wholesale Printing June 26, 2009 - 8:54 pm
Excellent points on search marketing for Wordpress blogs. These words on being relevant and being reputable are really good, and they are not easy as well. One has to make an effort, take the time to build their blogs with good quality content, establish their target markets, and build a community.
IT Certification Training News July 1, 2009 - 6:36 am
Great insights by Matt cuts, thanks for sharing them. .-= IT Certification Training News´s last blog ..Windows Server 2008 – Powerful Webhosting =-.
Directory Submission July 24, 2009 - 11:09 am
I am surprised that he we endorse Word Press like this. However as open source goes WordPress is probably one of the best platform in regards to SEO. So nice post.
Windshield Repair July 28, 2009 - 3:20 am
This article is so nice.the best platform of SEO.Thanks for this post
monte carlo ceiling fan July 28, 2009 - 3:23 am
It post is great.Is right point information of SEO searching marketing.Thanks
WordpressAutomobilesThemes July 29, 2009 - 6:28 am
Wordpress is the leading blog software in the world. It can be used for so many forms of websites. Its quick and easy customizable user interface makes using Wordpress a breeze. However what really sets different wordpress blogs apart is their themes.
kredyty August 15, 2009 - 5:23 pm
Word Press service is getting more popularity.Do Google and Word Press produce same results in ranking.????New information i have got from your blog. Relevancy & accuracy both are key parts in google and search Engine Optimization.
Pooriamer September 8, 2009 - 2:22 am
It is not enough to just have a lot of backlinks, it is the Quality of backlinks along with the Quantity that will help you rank better in Search Engines. This tools help you determine the backlinks of your website and the link text used by your backlinks to Link to your wesbite. You can also check pages, domain ranks and anchors. [url=http://www.backlinkhunter.com]backlinks[/url]
drzwi automatyczne April 5, 2010 - 1:25 pm
I think Matt Cutts is one of the most important of which we should listen. White SEO will always be on time - Google is developing as well as developing algorithms for black seo might run out of space
TV gids aanbieding September 6, 2010 - 12:05 pm
tHx for sharing this piece of information, i gonna try it out.

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