This episode picks up where we left off with SEO professional Shane Eubanks and his top WordPress SEO tips. In part one, we covered the foundational steps: setting up Google Search Console, installing analytics, using an SEO plugin, generating XML sitemaps, and choosing a quality theme. Now we get into the tips that take your WordPress SEO to the next level.

Continuing Shane's WordPress SEO Tips

Shane's advice comes from years of managing SEO for a Fortune 500 company during the day and building his own WordPress sites at night. These tips were validated by real results: Shane's SEO work enabled his wife to quit her teaching job and stay home with their children. Here are the advanced tips from part two of our conversation, updated for 2026.

Optimize Your Permalink Structure

Set your WordPress permalink structure to use post names rather than the default date-based or numeric URLs. A URL like yoursite.com/wordpress-seo-tips is both more readable for humans and more informative for search engines than yoursite.com/?p=123.

In 2026, clean and descriptive URLs remain a best practice. Keep them short, include your target keyword, and use hyphens to separate words.

Optimize Every Post and Page

For every piece of content you publish, optimize these elements:

• Title tag: Include your target keyword near the beginning. Keep it under 60 characters.
• Meta description: Write a compelling summary that includes your keyword and encourages clicks. Keep it under 155 characters.
• Heading structure: Use one H1 tag (your post title) and organize content with H2 and H3 subheadings that include related keywords naturally.
• Image alt text: Describe every image with relevant alt text. This helps search engines understand your images and improves accessibility.
• Internal links: Link to other relevant content on your site. This helps search engines discover your pages and passes authority between them.

Manage Your Crawl Budget

Tell search engines which pages to crawl and which to ignore. Use your SEO plugin to noindex category archives, tag archives, and other low-value pages that could dilute your site's crawl budget. Focus Google's attention on your best content.

Speed Up Your Site

Page speed is a confirmed Google ranking factor and a critical component of user experience. In 2026, Core Web Vitals (Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint, and Cumulative Layout Shift) are key metrics.

Essential speed optimizations for WordPress:

• Use a caching plugin like WP Super Cache or LiteSpeed Cache
• Optimize images with a plugin like ShortPixel or Imagify
• Use a content delivery network (CDN) like Cloudflare
• Choose a fast, lightweight theme
• Minimize the number of plugins you install

Secure Your Site with HTTPS

HTTPS is a ranking signal and a basic requirement for any website in 2026. Most hosting providers offer free SSL certificates through Let's Encrypt. Install one and make sure all your URLs redirect from HTTP to HTTPS.

Create a Content Strategy

The best technical SEO in the world will not help an empty site. Create a consistent publishing schedule and stick to it. Focus each piece of content on a specific keyword or topic, and build a network of internal links between related posts.

In 2026, topical authority matters more than ever. Rather than writing isolated posts on random topics, build clusters of related content around your core topics. A pillar page that covers a broad topic links to detailed supporting articles on specific subtopics. This structure signals to Google that you are a comprehensive authority on the subject.

What Has Changed Since the Original Episode

The theme landscape has evolved. Shane and I discussed Thesis and Genesis frameworks, which were dominant in 2012. In 2026, the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg) has become the standard, and modern themes like GeneratePress, Kadence, and Astra are built to work with it natively. The core advice remains the same: use a well-coded, fast, and regularly updated theme.

Mobile-first indexing is now the default. Google crawls and indexes the mobile version of your site first. Your site must be fully responsive and perform well on mobile devices.

AI-generated content has raised the bar. With AI tools making content creation easier, the bar for what ranks well has risen. Google's Helpful Content system evaluates whether content demonstrates genuine expertise and provides value that cannot be found elsewhere. Technical SEO is necessary but not sufficient. You need genuinely helpful content to compete.

Key Takeaways

• Clean permalink structure with descriptive, keyword-rich URLs
• Optimize title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and image alt text for every post
• Manage crawl budget by noindexing low-value archive pages
• Page speed and Core Web Vitals are ranking factors; optimize aggressively
• HTTPS is mandatory for any website in 2026
• Build topical authority through content clusters and internal linking
• Technical SEO creates the foundation; genuinely helpful content is what ranks

For the complete WordPress SEO discussion, listen to the Late Night Internet Marketing Podcast on Apple Podcasts.