Content management systems (CMS) are fantastic tools for small businesses hoping to build professional-looking websites without spending a fortune. WordPress is arguably the best of the best, as evidenced by the fact that it powers more than 43% of websites worldwide. But there is a catch: WordPress doesn’t automatically handle SEO and digital marketing. That is something small business owners need to deal with separately.
Pixsan is a well-known agency providing digital marketing and SEO services across the greater San Diego area. While they recognize WordPress as a fine CMS, they also recommend that local business owners still work with a professional SEO and digital marketing agency. Working with professionals is especially important for businesses looking to expand regionally.
A Great Platform for SEO
Although WordPress doesn’t handle SEO and digital marketing automatically, it is still a great platform for both. One of its big advantages is a clean code architecture that stays out of your way. Its massive ecosystem of specialized plugins provides a ton of flexibility. And some of those plugins pertain directly to digital marketing and SEO.
The way WordPress is constructed translates into a ton of technical flexibility for website owners. Just about everything can be customized. Dynamic visual elements are easy to add, while third-party tools extend functionality. But without proper oversight, this same technical flexibility can become a heavy liability.
The perfect example is relying too much on plugins. Every plugin adds background code and scripting. Too many plugins will slow a page down. And at a time when Google prioritizes page speed and mobile search, slow websites are a boondoggle. Google indirectly punishes slow and mobile-unfriendly sites by pushing them farther down the priority scale.
How a Pro Can Help
A website owner can save money by building his own WordPress site and still bring in a professional to help with greater San Diego SEO. That professional can help by streamlining the company site architecture and replacing clunky plugins with cleaner and lighter code. He can compress and optimize images, streamline navigation, and make other changes that will preserve the user experience yet still reduce load times.
Maximize Indexing Capabilities
Another WordPress weakness is the generic nature of its underlying code. The CMS needs to be ‘all things to all people’ in order for it to function as intended. Its underlying code is not inherently helpful to local SEO or regional expansion. Fortunately, a professional San Diego SEO provider understands Google’s indexing capabilities and knows how to maximize a WordPress site to take advantage of them.
How a Pro Can Help
Bringing in a pro to maximize Google indexing plays out in three ways:
- Clean Taxonomy – A pro can map out logical categories and URL tags, making it easier for search bots to identify local and regional service boundaries.
- Schema Markup – A professional can code a specialized back-end structure that explicitly reveals physical location and operating hours to Google bots.
- Scalable Content – A professional can organize page architecture to accommodate unique neighborhood-specific content that will not break the site hierarchy.
If you are a greater San Diego business owner and you are confused by all of this, you’re not alone. But that’s why you need an SEO specialist who can help you turn your professional-looking WordPress site into a local and regional SEO powerhouse.
WordPress is a fine platform for building websites without having to know how to code. But it falls short in terms of both SEO and digital marketing. For small business owners in San Diego and beyond, the obvious solution is to let professionals handle that part.
