Elementor is one of the most popular WordPress builders. It allows users to build beautiful websites with no technical knowledge using the drag-and-drop functionality.
However, without proper Elementor SEO, your website may not rank well in search results. When you combine SEO and Elementor, you get a stunning website that will drive in organic traffic.
In this guide, we will look at the steps to make your new or existing Elementor website SEO friendly.
You will learn how to improve your website’s user experience and make it search engine crawler-friendly.
Understanding The Relationship Between Elementor and SEO
Elementor is no doubt one of the best tools out there for building WordPress websites. But there are several myths about how Elementor sites aren’t SEO friendly due to bloat, complex code, or slow loading.
While these concerns are real, they are not limited to Elementor sites. Elementor allows you to build amazing websites. But practices like using too many widgets, plugins, and images can lead to bloat and slow down the site.
SEO for Elementor involves following best practices like using lightweight themes and fewer components. The goal should be to build well-structured pages that load in 3 seconds or less.
Setting Up SEO in Elementor: Essential Tools and Plugins
Elementor allows you to add outbound links and internal links, and even increase your site speed. However, true SEO in Elementor requires integrating with other SEO plugins.
Here are some of the plugins you will need:
SEO Tools
Elementor integrates well with many SEO tools like Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and SEOPress. This built-in integration allows you to use these tools to optimize your Elementor WordPress website.
The first step to Elementor SEO is to download and install one of these SEO tools. We will use Yoast SEO with Elementor for this example. Once you’ve installed and activated Yoast SEO or any of the other tools, it integrates seamlessly with Elementor.
Next, edit a page and click on the settings icon at the top: you will see the ‘Yoast SEO’ tab. Click on it to start optimizing your page directly from Elementor.
You can set keywords, improve readability, perform internal linking, and more.
RankMath and Yoast SEO for Elementor also offer schema support to further optimize your website.
Image Optimization
Large images can slow down your site. Similarly, you need to add alt-text to images to optimize them for search. Elementor SEO also allows for both of these. It has an inbuilt image editing feature to resize your image and add alt-text and other metadata.
It also has an image optimizer add-on to compress and optimize your images.
Go to Elementor >> Add-ons, then install and activate the Image Optimizer by Elementor to use it.
Speed Check
Site speed is an important aspect of SEO. Elementor integrates with WP-Optimize, which allows you to check and improve your site speed. It also integrates with Google Site Kit, which also offers site speed checks.
Optimizing On-Page Elements with Elementor SEO
WordPress Elementor SEO allows you to optimize various aspects of your page right from the Elementor edit screen. You can modify your title, headings, and images effortlessly.
Meta Title and Descriptions
Start with the Page title. Click on the Settings icon at the top, then on the Yoast SEO Elementor tab. Scroll down and click on ‘Search appearance’. It will open the search appearance modal, where you can modify the meta title. SEO best practice is to keep it under 60 characters.
Next, write a compelling meta description under 160 characters to boost click-through rate. Yoast SEO will analyze all the actions you take and provide actionable insights for improvements.
Edit Content
Elementor has an inbuilt text editor that allows you to format your text and also optimize it. Click on the text you want to optimize. This will open the editor modal on the side.
You can bold, italicize, underline, or add other formatting like bullet points and numbering. Elementor’s visual capabilities ensure you can see every change you make, not only in the text editor, but also on the site preview.
The built-in SEO tool also has access to all the content on a page. So Yoast SEO, in this case, will analyze your content for keywords, readability, length, and other factors with clear optimization suggestions.
Set Proper On-Page Headings
Elementor not only allows you to add headers to your text via the textbox, but also to the designs. The editor has a header (H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6) hierarchy. You can structure your headers to ensure search engines understand the page.
Add Internal and External Link
Internal and external links are essential for SEO. Elementor SEO provides for this in both the editor and the visual editor. In the editor, select the text you want to link to, then click on the link icon. This will open up the field to enter the link.
To link to an external page, paste the page URL into the field. For an internal page on your site, type the title into the box to search for it.
Optimize Images
Images are important for SEO, and large image files can slow down your website. Elementor WordPress SEO offers image optimization with access to the regular WordPress image editing.
To edit an image in the editor, click on the image and then click on the edit icon to see the image edit modal.
You can add alt-text to the image from here, add a caption, and align it right, left, or center. There’s also the option to resize the image or add a link to make it clickable.
Improving Site Performance for Better SEO
Site speed directly impacts Elementor for SEO optimisation. A slow site would frustrate users and rank low on search engines.
To start, go to Google Page Speed Insights, enter your site or page URL to see how quickly it loads. Your goal should be to get it to load within under 3 seconds.
Here’s how to optimize your site for speed:
Optimize Images
Start by compressing your images. Image compression plugins like ShortPixel allow you to reduce image sizes without losing quality. Elementor has an add-on for image optimization. The addon can compress and optimize your images for speed.
Also, enable lazy loading for pages with multiple images. Elementor has the option to enable lazy loading for pages.
Caching
Enable caching to reduce load time, especially for static pages. This is because caching saves a version of the site that is quickly delivered to the user.
Fewer Scripts
Using too many plugins, widgets, and animations means running multiple scripts. This can overload your site and make it slow.
So review your site’s widgets, animations, and plugins to ensure you are only using what is necessary. You can also use a plugin like WP Rocket to optimize your CSS and JavaScript components and make them all load faster.
Theme
Choose a lightweight theme that’s SEO and Elementor compatible. Elementor has several great theme options.
Implementing Schema Markup in Elementor
Schema markup boosts SEO on Elementor by helping search engines understand your content. It can also add rich snippets like star ratings to your site in search results, which will make you stand out.
Elementor allows adding schema for your site using the integrated tools like RankMath and Yoast SEO.
To add schema on Elementor using Yoast SEO, click on the settings icon in the Elementor screen, then the Yoast SEO Elementor tab.
Scroll down and click the “Schema” option.
Select the appropriate ‘page type’ or ‘article type’ from the drop-down.
Yoast provides a wide range of preset schema options you can choose from, like ‘About Page’, ‘FAQ page’, or even ‘Real Estate Listing.’
After choosing, click save to update it.
Yoast SEO predefined schema options reduce the need for manual coding, which requires specific knowledge. But if you want manual coding, then you should use RankMath.
Once done, you can test the schema. Go to the Google Rich Result Test page. Enter the URL of the page you just added the schema to, and click ‘Test URL.’
This will tell you whether the schema markup was applied properly.
Mobile Optimization: Ensuring Responsive Design with Elementor
Over 60% of internet traffic today comes from mobile devices. So if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, users will have bad experiences. And this may lead to a low ranking in search results.
Elementor’s responsive mode allows you to easily customize your website for all devices. With it, you can adjust layouts, modify font sizes, widgets, spacing, and padding for the various screen types. Most Elementor SEO themes are mobile responsive, so picking the right theme won’t take time.
Once you are done, test your site’s responsiveness on a mobile device. If needed, keep optimizing it for better improvement. You can also use Google PageSpeed Insights to test how easy it is to access your site on mobile devices.
Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid in Elementor
Elementor is powerful, but as we mentioned earlier, mistakes can harm its SEO. Here are some of the common mistakes for Elementor SEO:
Widget Overuse
Using too many widgets can bloat your code and slow down the site. So stick to only essential widgets. The best practice for Elementor designs is to achieve more with fewer widgets.
Neglecting Meta Tags
Not using proper titles and meta descriptions can make it difficult for search engine crawlers to understand the purpose of your page. You can add metadata for each page on our site using the Yoast plugin.
Improper Heading Hierarchy
Skipping H1, H2, and H3 without a proper hierarchy confuses the crawler. Your site should follow a proper structure.
Too Many Plugins
Just like with widgets, fewer plugins make your site lightweight and faster to load.
Skipping Alt-texts for Images
Without Alt texts, crawlers may not understand what the image is about.
No Site Audit
SEO is a continuous process. So it is important to always audit and update your site to keep ranking high.
Elementor SEO Pro: Advanced SEO Features
Elementor PRO provides even more fantastic SEO features. First, it gives you full theme builder control. This means you can design headers, footers, custom headers, archive pages, and single post templates. These consistent headings, breadcrumbs, and linking structure make it easier for web crawlers to understand your page.
Pro also allows you to pull data from custom fields like ACF, Pods, and display it dynamically with Elementor SEO PRO. This data supports Schema markup and rich snippets, and can improve your search ranking.
Elementor PRO can also help with WooCommerce SEO. With it, you can build custom products, shops, and category pages, which you can optimize for better ranking.
Monitoring and Analyzing SEO Performance
Tracking and measurement are key for growth when it comes to SEO with Elementor. So use Google Analytics to monitor traffic, bounce rates, and user behaviour on your site.
Set up Google Search Console to track your page’s ranking for specific keywords. For pages performing fairly, add more ranking keywords, internal links, and other strategies to push their ranking.
Check your site URLs on Google Search Console to ensure your pages are indexed. Use tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush to get detailed insights into backlinks and competition strategies.
Conclusion
Elementor SEO can transform your website into a search engine magnet. With its great features and integration with tools like Yoast SEO, optimizing your site will be seamless.
To rank high, focus on site speed, mobile responsiveness, and add schema. Avoid using too many widgets, plugins, and a poor heading structure. When you implement these, your site search will be crawler-friendly and boost your ranking.
FAQs
How to use Yoast SEO with Elementor?
Install both plugins, then edit your page with Elementor. Next, click on the settings icon at the top of the edit page. The Yoast SEO Elementor tab will be in a sidebar. The tab allows you insight into your content. So set up schema, metadata, and others for the page.
How does Elementor compare to Other Website Builders in Terms of SEO?
Elementor stands head-to-head with most website builders like Wix or Squarespace. But its ease of use, massive component library, and availability for WordPress give it an edge. It also gives you full control over meta tags, schema, and even mobile responsiveness.
How to do SEO with Elementor?
Use a plugin like Yoast SEO or RankMath. These tools allow you to set meta tags, track content readability, keyword usage, and add schema markup. Elementor also provides tools to improve loading time and mobile responsiveness to boost SEO.
Does Elementor Affect Website Loading Speed and SEO Performance?
Elementor can slow sites if you use too many components. To prevent this, use lightweight themes, fewer components, compress images, and enable caching to maintain speed.
How to add Schema Markup in Elementor?
First, install an SEO tool like Yoast SEO. This tool makes it easier to set up a schema and bring that ability right into Elementor. Click on the settings icon at the top of the Elementor edit screen. Go to Elementor >> Schema, and choose the schema that matches your page content.
