More than 1 in 4 websites are built on WordPress - a quarter of the internet basically. The platform is also one of the best in terms of SEO, which is one of the reasons why search engine optimization Dubai recommends using WordPress to build SEO-friendly websites. Combine that with WordPress hosting for the best benefits. 

However, this is not an easy task. Beginners often make a lot of mistakes while optimizing WordPress websites. Some of those mistakes impact the site's visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs).

Not selecting appropriate time-zone

The option is right there under 'Settings' in the 'General' tab. However, it's overlooked most of the time. If you want your WordPress blog to publish content at a certain time, setting the time-zone is very important. Without setting a time-zone, you won't see posts getting published as per schedule at the time you specified. 

Not creating XML Sitemap

The XML Sitemap is basically a list of everything there is in your website - posts, media, page etc. You are supposed to create a sitemap and submit it to Google to let them know of the things in the website you want indexed. 

You can create sitemaps using the Yoast SEO plugin, and submit it after to Google Search Console. 

Not setting permalinks to post name

Google has always made it clear that they want people to get user-friendly content. So it's a safe bet that even permalinks influence your website's search engine rank, and even click-through rate. 

You can set permalinks from the Settings option. But the permalink should always include a few keywords that have been used in the post. Selecting the post name should do the trick. 

Not publishing content regularly

Publishing good quality, informative content is giving a reason for users to visit your website again. Well-developed content also positively influences search engine rankings, providing you with more opportunities to increase visibility in Google's search results subsequently increasing traffic. 

Not publishing content regularly would lead to people not visiting your website regularly. Consequently, Google won't crawl your site very often. The search engine giant recommends publishing content that satisfies users and gives them what they are looking for. 

Not linking to homepage from footer

Another one of those things beginners overlook. This however doesn't give you a huge ranking boost but is nevertheless considered as a good practice by SEO experts. 

You will always find the name of the website or business in their footer. All you have to do is link your website in the footer to your homepage. It makes it easier for Google to identify your site through branded anchor text. 

Conclusion

Avoiding these common mistakes, posting quality content regularly, and using reputed SEO services from an SEO company can get your website the rank it deserves. However, you need to be patient enough to let the search engine assess your site’s quality before ranking it higher in SERPs.