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SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is one of the most important factors of having a successful website nowadays, especially if your website benefits from search traffic. Getting a search engine optimized website built from scratch requires a big budget, which most entrepreneurs, bloggers and online shops don’t have. Luckily WordPress has grown into being the most used content management system (CMS) in the world, in fact more than 30% of all websites run on it.
In 2020 and beyond, SEO is not about focusing the keywords! Even though Google wants to provide accurate results for the users, it gives more importance to the site design and site loading speed as these factors offer the best user experience for the people who make the search.
Let’s assume that you are creating super helpful content based on the search intent. However, you failed to implement the essential things like mobile-responsiveness, fast loading speed, and precise structure for user navigation.
Now? Do you think that the audience will read your helpful article where you have invested several hours in crafting the information?
When the readers are not getting satisfied, then you will struggle to get top rankings on Google search results. Understand! The recent SEO trends are directly proportional to user satisfaction, and hence, you should build a brandable business site.
To implement the technical SEO strategies, it is important to use the SEO optimized WordPress themes so that you can create a pleasing design that wins your readers’ hearts. A well-designed site will send a green signal to search engines, and you will be recognized as a brand.
A proper WordPress theme that can be considered SEO friendly should be
- Fast & Responsive
- Schema Ready
- Secure
- Free from bloatware
- Properly Coded
- Made with correct WordPress Hooks
- Easily Indexable
1 . Astra
Building a website does not only include designing beautiful pages, adding great content, and pushing the publish button. You really need to make sure all of your efforts deliver results. This is exactly what Astra Theme provides. It acts as a firm and reliable foundation to build your website while taking care of several key SEO factors.
With Astra, you get schema markups, in-depth AMP support, and lightweight code. The theme is currently one of the most popular themes on the WordPress repository, and its fast speed is certainly important for anyone building an SEO-friendly website.
Features :
- Light-weight as feather
- No jQuery
- WooCommerce
- Schema markup
- Supports all page builders
- Pre-built website templates
2 . Divi
Divi is a best-selling WordPress theme that has been built with SEO in mind.
If you want to ensure that your website has every chance of being found in search engines like Google, and you’re also looking for a theme that’s packed with features and pre-built content, then Divi from Elegant Themes is hard to beat. As this theme is regularly updated, you can be sure that the design of your website will be optimized for search engines according to the latest SEO trends and guidelines.
As well as working with all the most popular WordPress SEO plugins, Divi also comes with a growing selection of pre-built website packs that cover almost every type of site imaginable. If you choose Divi for your website, you can browse the available website packs and the individual content templates from inside your WordPress dashboard. Then, when you find one you want to use, you can import it into your site in just a few clicks.
In addition to being an SEO-friendly WordPress theme, Divi does also include some website templates that would work well for creating sites that can help you promote your search engine optimization services online. With lots of sales and marketing focused templates to choose from, Divi is a great choice for anyone who wants to grow their business.
If you need to customize the design of your site, the powerful Divi Builder tool is integrated into this theme. Thanks to this, you can open up any of the Divi layouts and edit them through an intuitive visual interface. You can just as easily create your own custom page designs from scratch, including the ability to insert a wide range of customizable modules and elements into your content.
With pre-built templates that cover all types of projects, there’s a good chance you’ll find a suitable design with Divi.
3 . SEO Engine
SEO Engine is a top tier WordPress theme for SEO & digital marketing agencies. It has all the features that set your website apart from the competition. Being fully responsive and retina ready means that your visitors can reach you from any device – even those with very high resolutions. Speed-wise, the SEO Engine gives your site an A grade performance with an overall rating of 96 on Pingdom.
As for variety, this theme gives you 12 homepages with stunning inner page layouts. What’s more, you have 15+ header variations from which to choose. You can edit every block of the theme using the WPBakery Page Builder to give you a beautiful site. SEO Engine offers excellent theme options with a robust admin panel by Redux.
When you’re through creating a great website, this SEO optimized wordpress themes will help your pages and posts appear prominently on search results. It comes with SEO structured data schema to help achieve remarkable Google rich snippets.
4 . Schema
Schema is a premium SEO friendly WordPress theme from MyThemeShop. While there is no free version, the price is quite affordable at just $35.
Schema comes with multiple preset layouts, including minimal and eCommerce looks. You also get a detailed theme options area that lets you customize it to your needs. However, Schema notably does not use the real-time WordPress Customizer, so you won’t be able to see the style changes you make in real-time.
On the SEO front, the name is a pretty good indicator of one part of what makes Schema an SEO theme. That is, the Schema theme automatically adds all the relevant schema markup for you.
Beyond that, it includes built-in breadcrumb support and is lightweight and quick-loading, which knocks out another two of what makes something the best SEO WordPress theme.
It’s also responsive and includes an optimized heading structure.
However, Schema lacks built-in AMP support, which means you’ll need to create your own custom AMP design. Beyond that, it lacks a built-in way to show the last updated date, which means you’ll need to dig into the code to make that change.
5 . Genesis
Genesis is a popular theme framework from StudioPress, a company acquired by WP Engine in October 2018.
Right off the bat, one unique thing about Genesis is that the core theme is not a standalone theme. That is, you’ll never just use the Genesis theme. Instead, you’ll use a Genesis child theme to control your site’s style, which can get a little pricey. Typically, for both the core Genesis framework and a child theme, you can expect to pay ~$130+.
However, for that price, you do get a solid SEO-optimized foundation.
Genesis offers clean, lightweight code that will have your site loading fast. It automatically adds basic schema markup, gives you control over the heading structure, and lets you add breadcrumbs with the check of a box.
This theme goes even further, with options to control SEO titles/descriptions and add noindex tags to certain content. However, you’re probably better off using a dedicated WordPress SEO plugin for this instead.
One thing to pay attention to is that there’s no single responsive design – it depends completely on your child theme. So that doesn’t mean it will be bad – but you’ll need to pay attention. Beyond that, Genesis includes AMP support via the official AMP plugin for WordPress, just like the Astra theme.
Finally, if you want to show the last modified date of a post, you can use the free (and official) Genesis Simple Edits plugin.
6 . TheGem
TheGem has been designed with SEO in mind and delivering everything needed to help your website rank in the search engines.
With a focus on fast loading times, mobile friendliness, and secure code, TheGem certainly checks all the boxes when it comes to laying the foundations of an SEO friendly website. The fact that your website will integrate with leading search engine optimization plugins like Yoast SEO if you choose TheGem, is another plus point this theme has going for it.
Sometimes choosing a highly SEO friendly WordPress theme means making sacrifices in other areas, such as feature lists or design choices. However, that definitely isn’t the case with TheGem. The fact that this is one of the most popular premium WordPress themes available today should give you some idea of how competitive this product is.
With over 100 website demos that are ready to be imported into your WordPress site in just a few clicks, TheGem is ideal for a range of projects. From blogs and business homepages to ecommerce stores and hotel booking websites, the pre-built website content from TheGem is ready for any challenge. The impressive selection of customization options and settings, not to mention premium web design plugins like Visual Composer, makes it easy to add some of your personality and branding to TheGem demos.
If you’re looking for an SEO friendly WordPress theme that isn’t lacking in features, the best-selling TheGem is worth a closer look.
7 . Pofo
Pofo is a search engine optimization friendly WordPress theme with a stunning design.
Created for building almost any type of website with WordPress, the 210 pre-built site demos of Pofo make it one of the most versatile SEO friendly WordPress themes available today. Due to this large number of design options, regardless of what type of website you want to create, it’s highly recommended that you check out the Pofo demos. With designs covering portfolios, blogs, agencies, ecommerce stores, and more, Pofo is a true multi-purpose WordPress theme.
Although the pre-built content of Pofo works equally well for a range of projects from creative sites to those that require a more corporate design, if you can’t find the perfect option for your website, you’ll be pleased to learn that this theme includes a powerful drag-and-drop page builder tool. Thanks to the premium WPBakery Page Builder plugin – previously known as Visual Composer – you can easily adjust the pre-built demo content or create your own unique homepage and inner page designs from scratch, all through a front-end drag-and-drop user interface.
Pofo has also been built to take full advantage of the WordPress Customizer interface, giving you full control over the visual settings for your website. Now you can adjust the global settings that cover properties like the fonts, colors, layouts, and other options for your site at the touch of a button. Other useful features of the Pofo WordPress theme include great social media integration options, custom sidebars and widgets, as well as under construction and maintenance modes that can be used while you work on your new website design.
As you’d expect from one of the most popular SEO friendly WordPress themes, Pofo works with all the best search engine optimization plugins.
8 . Avada
Some Features/Plugins :
- typeface options
- drifting navigation
- built-in huge menu
- boxed/full size design
- unlimited sidebars
- 30+ homepage layout choices
- sustains several post formats
- custom-made widgets
9 . enfold
Whether you are a seasoned professional developing your online footing, a self-employed photographer wishing to capture new business, or simply a hobbyist displaying, Enfold is a design template that could create constantly remarkable portfolios that truly feature your jobs in the very best of lights, while staying a general fast-loading, quickly flexible theme with lots of fully fledged demo sites for you to hit the ground running and also an user-friendly personalization process that is both time-saving and also fantastically flexible. This very popular and flexible theme comes with the business demo also and it can be the best choice if you are trying to find modern-day and creative strategy for your business or personal website.
Some Features/Plugins :
- drag n drop
- fast 2 minutes theme install
- great support
- narrated video tutorials
- 20+ different language files included
10 . Hestia
Hestia is a popular freemium WordPress theme that uses material design principles. So if you love material design, that’s one reason to consider Hestia.
The free version is available at WordPress.org, and the Hestia Pro theme will cost you $89.
So what makes Hestia an SEO theme?
Hestia is optimized for speed, it has the right heading structure out of the box, and the developer includes knowledge base instructions showing you how to add breadcrumbs.
It also looks great on mobile, which is important for Google’s mobile-first indexing.
However, for smaller things like styling its AMP layout or showing the last modified date, you might need to get your hands dirty in the source code.
Conclusion
When you have a plan for higher search engine rankings in 2020, make sure to buy an SEO optimized theme for WordPress. No matter how carefully you craft the content; if your WordPress theme doesn’t follow the best SEO practices, then you will struggle to rank top on the search engine results.
User fulfillment is one of the recent SEO trends, and it can be accomplished through a professionally designed site that has clean code and lightning-fast loading ability. Don’t go with the one that has poor coding format, lousy look, slow speed, and idle customer support.
All the themes mentioned above are worth buying! You may go with any theme based on your audience’s expectations and business requirements. If you ask my suggestion, then my top recommendation would be DIVI and Astra theme.