Quick Wins

Here are a few quick fixes you can make to help keep your site’s SEO in good shape. If you find that multiple pages require attention for a particular task, prioritize the pages by starting with your most important content first.

Add a focus keyphrase and description to every page.

Task: Review each page in WordPress to make sure it has a focus keyphrase and meta description assigned in Yoast.

Adding a focus keyphrase to each of your pages in Yoast is an important way to boost your SEO performance. It helps you evaluate your content, check your keyword use, and guide optimization. Yoast SEO scans your text to see if your phrase appears in key spots like the title, headings, and introduction. The more it appears on a page, the better your chances are for being found in search engine results.

Including relevant keywords in your page’s meta description and content can help search engines and AI-powered search tools better understand and discover your page. This may improve how quickly your page appears in search results and increase the likelihood that your content is found and surfaced by GenAI tools.

---

Take note of keywords entered in Google Search.

Task: Log in to Siteimprove to see which keywords users are entering in Google Search when one or more pages on your site appear in the search results.

The better you understand the keywords your users are searching for and how your pages appear in those results, the more effectively you can identify the search terms that matter most to your audience. This insight can also help you refine your content strategy and increase the likelihood that your pages will appear in relevant search results.

---

Reduce the number of images on your site and their file size.

Task: Remove or reduce the number of images that don’t add context or value to your content. For images you keep, resize large, full-resolution files to an appropriate size to help improve page-load performance.

Images play an important role in how users experience your website and can also affect how well your site performs. Too many images don’t necessarily create a better user experience, instead they tend to draw attention away from the content that your visitors are looking for. In regards to file size, while newer image formats, such as WebP, have made large file sizes less of a concern for page-load performance in our environment, it is still best practice to avoid uploading unnecessarily large images whenever possible.

Before uploading an image, resize it to the dimensions needed for its intended use and save it for the web using an image-editing program such as Photoshop or another similar tool. For example, if an image will be displayed at 1,000 pixels wide on your page, there is no need to upload a 3,000-pixel-wide original image downloaded from the Wake Forest UMC Photo Library.

If you need help determining the best way to resize and save images for the web, reach out to us. We’re happy to help.

---

Here are some quick wins that will elevate your content’s visibility, make it easier for both humans and AI/search engines to find, and generally improve how visitors experience your website.

Fix broken links and correct any misspellings.

Task: Log into Siteimprove at least once a month (ideally twice a month) to fix broken links and correct any misspellings.

Users are more likely to leave a site because of problems with its content than because they dislike its design. One of the worst things you can do is ignore content issues once you become aware of them. Addressing these issues promptly helps ensure that users can find the information they need and have a better overall experience on your site.

---

Add call-to-action buttons or links on important pages.

Task: Add at least one call-to-action button or link on a page where you want your visitors to complete a task or goal.

Every page on your site should give visitors at least one clear next step, regardless of the type of content it contains. That action might guide visitors to another page or help them complete a specific goal.

Consider adding buttons or other clear call-to-actions that visitors can immediately identify as taking the next step.

Whatever the purpose of the page, avoid creating dead ends—give users a clear path forward.

---

Replace “we” with “you”.

Task: Evaluate the tone of how you’re addressing your target audience and make sure you put the “me” in how you write your content.

Personalization doesn’t have to be tailored messages to individuals. You can easily personalize the tone your website messaging by using “you” instead of “we” to make it more about them instead of us.

Nielsen Norman Group (NNG), a leading user experience research group, found that “different tones of voice on a website have measurable impacts on users’ perceptions of a brand’s friendliness, trustworthiness, and desirability. Casual, conversational, and moderately enthusiastic tones performed best.”

---

Create clearer and more concise headings.

Task: Make sure your headings (H2, H3, etc.) are clear, concise, and easy to scan. Each heading should accurately describe the content that immediately follows, allowing users to quickly understand what information they’ll find in that section.

Clear, easy-to-scan headings help visitors quickly understand what content they’ll find in each section of your page. Effective headings don’t necessarily need to be as short as possible. Instead, use as many words as necessary to clearly and directly communicate the main point.

Whenever possible, incorporate those main points or keywords from the section into your headings. This helps visitors quickly identify relevant information while also giving search engines and AI-powered tools stronger signals about the content and its importance.

Finally, don’t be afraid to personalize your headings. A conversational tone can make your content feel more welcoming and engaging because it reflects how we naturally communicate. A more personal heading may also capture a visitor’s attention. As long as you’re using relevant keywords, a conversational approach can benefit both your audience and search engines.

---

Complete the 5-Minute Page Check document.

Task: Select a few pages that are especially important to your target audience and use this checklist to evaluate whether they meet your content strategy standards.

Make sure the content on your pages is reaching and connecting with your audience. To quickly assess how well your page is performing across key areas, including readability, accessibility, and calls to action, download the 5-Minute Page Check document to see how many things you’re doing well with.

---

Addressing accessibility issues on your website may not always be the most enjoyable task, but it is essential to ensuring that everyone can access and experience your content. While some accessibility improvements can take time to implement, there are several simple steps you can take right now to make your content more accessible.

Make sure all your images have alternative text.

Task: Check any image or photo you have on your page in WordPress and add alt text if it’s missing.

Every image and photo on your website that has purpose and is not for decoration must have have alt text in order to make sure we are compliant with accessibility regulations. You can check for and add alt text in one of two ways:

1. Click on the image on your page and add ALT text if it’s missing.
2. Find that image in your WordPress Media Library and add it there.

Note: If you upload an image directly into your Media Library, you should always add alt text at that time.

---

Fix any headings that don’t follow a logical hierarchy.

Task: Check your pages to make sure your headings (H1, H2, etc.) are following a logical hierarchy and correct them if they don’t.

Page headings should follow a logical order and hierarchy. When headings are used inconsistently or out of sequence, they can make content more difficult to understand and navigate for all users—not just those who use assistive technologies to access your website.

If you need help getting started, visit our Headings tutorial page in the Siteimprove section of this site.

---

Here are a few more tasks you can complete in order to make a more enjoyable, accessible, and user-friendly website for everyone.

• Using Yoast, make sure your homepage title is: Department Name | Wake Forest University
• Use headings to break up long content
• Fix any page that ends with a -# in the URL by removing the duplicate page in WordPress
• Avoid jargon, acronyms, and abbreviations; but if you have to use them, provide context to explain what they are
• Add clear labels on your buttons as a way to guide users towards desirable actions
• If you have a social media feed displayed on your site, make sure that the content published within that social account is regularly updated and doesn’t become stale
• Use white space effectively to avoid cluttered pages
• Remove the “Home” link in your site navigation
• Add/edit closed-captioning to YouTube videos
• Regularly check your published content and update as-needed
• Perform an annual site audit and get your entire team involved