Here are six simple tips to score free search engine traffic

Search engines can send you boatloads of highly qualified and free traffic if they like your site. That’s where WordPress’s search engine optimization (SEO) tools and features come in, because they automatically “bake in” many best practices. Which means your WordPress.​com site comes with great SEO right out of the box. Those SEO capabilities are a big reason why more than 30% of the world’s top 10 million websites -- including TIME, Forbes, Variety, and TechCrunch -- are built with WordPress. And they're why WordPress receives incredible praise from SEO insiders: WordPress automatically solves a ton of SEO issues…. By using WordPress you’ve already taken the first big step. WordPress is a fantastic piece of software. — Google’s most well-known in-house SEO expert. WordPress is the absolute best platform to use as the foundation of your SEO success story. — Search Engine Journal, the largest trade publication for the SEO industry. A source at Google told me that WordPress offers "the best out-of-the-box SEO imaginable," which is probably why it runs nearly 30% of the Internet. — World-famous author, investor, blogger, and podcast host. Those accolades bring me to the first of today’s six SEO tips: Choose an SEO-friendly web platform Most site-building tools claim to have great SEO, but WordPress is king of the hill. If you want your site to rank well in search engines, you made the right choice by selecting WordPress.​com for your site. So congratulations, you’ve already nailed this first tip! Get a custom domain Your domain (or “URL”), is your address on the web. Your free account includes a WordPress​.com subdomain (indiependentandproud.wordpress.com), but search engines will rank your site higher if you have your own domain name. The good news is that we’ll give you a free custom domain name of your choice if you upgrade today. Click here to upgrade and claim your free custom domain. Focus on target keywords Pick specific, popular keywords and continue to use them. Then, make sure your keywords are integrated throughout your site’s pages and posts in a way that feels natural (not forced) to visitors. DIY Thanks to the internet, you can learn about any subject in a relatively short time — including SEO. Your first SEO “investment” should be reading about it from online experts, which you can do for free. Create dynamic content Google prefers sites with high-quality content. Writing great content about your project or business will help people find you through searches and keep them coming back. Be the tortoise Don’t look for shortcuts! Instead, plan for and invest in sustainable, long-term SEO strategies that will pay off if you continue to create quality content. Remember, don’t add too much to your plate all at once or you might get overwhelmed. Also, don’t expect your first blog post to go viral. Instead, think about how much valuable, SEO-supported content you’ll have if you simply write one exceptional blog post or article every week for three years. Plan on being the tortoise, not the hare. By selecting WordPress.​com, you’ve already taken the most important step toward long-term search engine success. Now it’s time to take the second-most important step and claim your free custom domain by upgrading your site today! Regards, Don L. WordPress.​com Marketing Team P.S.: All WordPress.​com plan upgrades come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. If the site upgrade isn’t right for you, no problem! Just let us know within 30 days and we’ll give you a full refund. If you decide to cancel your paid plan after you’ve already accepted the free custom domain, the domain is yours to keep. We simply ask that you cover our costs for the registration.