SEO is one of the most important aspects of a website. Without it your content will be difficult for search engines to find no matter how great the content is. One of the best ways to improve your search engine optimization is to use an SEO-optimized WordPress theme.

Best SEO Friendly WordPress Themes for Highly Discoverable Content in 2016

It can be difficult to tell how well a theme is optimized for SEO as some of the features are sometimes hidden. Highly optimized SEO is in the details and you can tell by how the code and features are described.

A well-designed theme would have clean code that search engines love. They would be built with SEO best practices which would focus on headings, Google rich snippets for posts and reviews, Google authorship, semantic HTML5 markup, CSS3, be responsive, etc. Some themes even give you some extra tools to help you customize and improve your SEO even further.

With these features in mind I found 15 themes that are SEO friendly and help make your content highly discoverable. A few of these are older themes but they’ve been updated and are great examples of clean code that’s SEO optimized. They’re in no particular order. Let’s take a look.

1. Divi

Divi is a theme from here at Elegant Themes that has a modular drag and drop builder with dozens of modules so you can create any kind of layout you need. You can also use the many premade layouts and modify them any way you want. The theme options panel includes an SEO tab where you can set up custom SEO for your homepage, single post page, and index page.

You can set up custom titles, description, keywords, canonical URL’s, custom fields, and lots more. You can enable or disable any field you want, giving you complete control over how the theme can handle your SEO. It’s a great choice for building any kind of website you can imagine.

Features include:

• Custom SEO
• Drag and drop builder
• Dozens of modules
• WPML ready including RTL support
• Responsive
• Clean code
• Theme customizations
• Custom CSS
• Theme options panel
• Dozens of premade layouts

Price: $69 | More Information

2. Extra

Extra is Elegant Themes’ magazine theme built on the Divi modular platform. It adds a category builder so you can create custom magazine layouts that focus on categories. It includes dozens of modules and premade layouts and you can modify them to create your own layouts to use and reuse. The ePanel includes custom SEO features for your homepage, single post page, and index page SEO. You can enable or disable each feature.

SEO functions include title, meta description, keywords, canonical URL’s, and more. You can set up definable characters to separate names and choose the autogeneration method. It’s a great choice for any kind of online magazine.

Features include:

• Custom SEO features
• Drag and drop builder
• Category builder
• Dozens of modules
• Dozens of premade layouts
• Responsive
• Options panel
• Custom CSS
• Mega menu

Price: $69 | More Information

3. Schema

Schema is a fast loading theme that’s ultra SEO friendly. It includes a custom options panel, custom widgets and shortcodes, and a built in review system. It follows SEO best practices and has high quality code with a fast loading time. It identifies content, media pages, and rich snippets to search engines so they know how to identify your content which can rank your website higher in the search results. It’s a good choice for personal blogs and magazines.

Features include:

• Ultra SEO friendly
• Options panel
• Review system
• Ad management
• Responsive
• Shortcodes
• Rich snippet support
• Custom CSS
• Unlimited backgrounds
• Translation ready
• Related posts
• Google fonts
• 350 icons
• Custom widgets
• Social media integration

Price: $59 | More Information

4. Infinity

Infinity is a high performance theme designed specifically for speed and SEO optimization. It’s highly optimized and will improve your PageSpeed and YSlow scores and includes clean code. It has several page templates and you can design your own layouts using the included Visual Composer plugin. It includes lots of shortcodes and widgets and you can customize the look of the site using the live customizer. It’s an excellent choice for corporations.

Features include:

• Custom options panel
• Responsive
• Unlimited sidebars
• Blog options
• Shortcode generator
• Visual Composer
• Bootstrap
• Translation ready with RTL support
• Live customizations
• 519 icons
• 500 Google fonts
• AJAX contact form

Price: $49 | More Information

5. QOON

QOON is a creative theme with lots of features and layouts built in. It can build any kind of page you need using Visual Composer and has several built in templates to help you get started. It was coded with HTML5, CSS3, and jQuery to be fast and clean. You can create unlimited portfolio pages and each one can have its own settings and categories. It was built with SEO in mind with a focus on headings, Google rich snippets, etc. It has a strong focus on UX and is a great choice for portfolios and agencies.

Features include:

• Revolution Slider
• Visual Composer
• Multiple post formats
• Multiple slideshows
• Unlimited portfolio pages
• Unlimited colors
• Advanced typography
• Focus on UX
• SEO optimized
• Responsive

Price: $49 | More Information

6. Gloria

Gloria is a drag and drop magazine theme that was developed with the best clean SEO practices in mind. It comes with 6 demos that you can modify to help you get started. Choose between the many post formats and layouts or create your own. It also has 6 headers, parallax, mega menu, unlimited colors, timeline, news ticker, and a theme customization panel. The sliders and animations are smooth. This one is a great choice for magazines and personal blogs.

Features include:

• Drag and drop
• Mega menu
• Unlimited colors
• Unlimited fonts
• AJAX live search
• AJAX load more
• AJAX login
• 6 demos
• 6 headers
• Parallax
• Review system
• Social buttons
• Unlimited sidebars
• Responsive
• Supports Google rich snippets
• Theme options panel
• Translation ready with RTL support
• Ad management

Price: $49 | More Information

7. Clementine

Clementine is a simple and clean theme that was made with SEO in mind. It comes with lots of layouts, page templates, widgets, shortcodes, etc., to help you develop any type of website you want where simplicity is the goal without losing features. You can customize your site even further using the advance options panel. It’s a good choice for personal blogs, artists, and photographers.

Features include:

• Options panel
• Post formats
• 3 sliders
• 8 widgets
• 9 layouts
• Unlimited sidebars
• Google maps
• Translation ready
• Responsive
• Font Awesome icons
• Shortcodes
• Social buttons

Price: $49 | More Information

8. Noozbeat

Noozbeat is a simple magazine with multiple homepage layouts that focus on SEO. It includes multiple homepage and category layouts so you can create the pages you want. There are three different post types including a ratings post type where you can write detailed ratings for reviews. It’s a clean theme that loads fast and is ideal for any kind of magazine or blog.

Features include:

• Category layouts
• Unlimited colors
• Custom widgets
• Ad management
• Theme options
• Social icons
• Widgets
• SEO optimized
• Speed optimized
• Translation ready
• Responsive

Price: $39 | More Information

9. Ember

Ember is a one-page theme with parallax that can be expanded into an online store using WooCommerce. The sections are tied to the menu structure which even includes a max mega menu. Sample pages and post types are included which will display, along with your latest blog post, on the main page within your sections.

Shortcodes and customizable colors allow you to customize the theme to suit your needs. You can manage your SEO using the tools included within the theme. It’s a great choice to creative agencies and freelancers.

Features include:

• Shortcodes
• Customizable options panel
• Customizable colors
• Responsive
• Google fonts
• Integrated social media
• Custom CSS
• SEO optimization
• Sliders
• Parallax
• Icons
• Max mega menu
• Translation ready

Price: $39 | More Information

10. Stag

Stag is an interactive portfolio designed to showcase your work using SEO best practices with a focus on the user’s experience. It includes several theme demos and you can customize them even further using the drag and drop page builder. The theme options, parallax backgrounds, customizable header, and CSS animations add to the beauty of this theme. It’s a great choice for freelancers and creative agencies.

Features include:

• Revolution Slider
• Visual Composer with Delicious Addons
• Templatera
• Multiple layouts
• Post types
• Customizable header
• WPML ready with RTL support
• 600 Google fonts
• Options panel
• On-scroll CSS
• SEO optimized
• Includes child theme
• Enhanced for social networking

Price: $49 | More Information

11. Digital Agency

Digital Agency is an SEO optimized theme with page templates designed specifically for creative agencies. Showcase your work using a Case Study page that can display in 2, 3, or 4 columns. Talk about your services using the Services, About, and FAQ pages. Show off your work with one of the several portfolio pages which will display in 2, 3, or 4 columns. SEO optimization utilized the latest code trends and best practices for onsite optimization. This is a great choice for freelancers and creative agencies.

Features include:

• Visual Composer
• Revolution Slider
• Ultimate Addons
• Unlimited colors
• Advanced control panel
• Page templates
• Ultra responsive
• SEO optimized
• Translation ready with RTL support
• Custom widgets

Price: $59 | More Information

12. My City

My City was designed to showcase local events, communities, and directories. It has a strong focus on local SEO. A built in Google keyword planner helps you develop content specifically for your local area. The included stats can show you your SEO ranking factors so you know where to focus your social media efforts.

Included widgets let you give special offers to your readers. It even includes the Uber Taxi service affiliate program. It’s an excellent theme for any website that focuses on local events or communities.

Features include:

• Google keyword planner
• Google maps
• Slider Revolution
• Visual Composer
• Testimonials Showcase
• EventOn event calendar
• Tickera
• Shortcodes
• CSS animations
• Responsive
• User cards
• Icons
• Multiple layouts
• Uber Taxi affiliate
• Custom widgets

Price: $49 | More Information

13. SEO WP

SEO WP is an SEO-focus theme made in 2014 that was recently updated. It was created for SEO agencies and works to be the example of their SEO efforts. It includes premium SEO plugins to help improve SEO and page-loading. It includes sections for case studies, marketing free books and resources, a landing page template, forms, and more. It was named the best SEO WordPress theme for 2015 on ThemeForest. It’s a great choice for SEO and marketing agencies.

Features include:

• Visual Composer
• Master Slider
• Social sharing buttons
• Customizable
• Responsive
• Premium images included
• 10 premium plugins
• Front-end content creator
• Mega menu
• Icons for SEO services
• Google SERP checker
• Fast loading
• Translation ready

Price: $49 | More Information

14. Socially Viral

Socially Viral is a simple magazine theme designed to improve social sharing and boost viral traffic. It’s also designed to boost your search engine rankings. With a primary focus of improving traffic and social sharing, it has the social features you would expect such as sharing buttons, trending posts, social integration, featured posts, and more.

It loads fast and even has schema integration so your website will rank higher in local searches. There are 2 different layouts built in and you can drag and drop single post elements. It’s a great choice for magazines and blogs of all types.

Features include:

• Mega menu
• Schema integration
• Subscription box
• 4 different loading effects
• Adsense optimized
• Social media icons
• Light
• Responsive
• Parallax
• Optimized for speed
• Option panel
• Shortcodes
• Font Awesome icons
• 600 Google fonts
• Ratings system
• Unlimited colors
• Unlimited sidebars
• Lazy load
• Translation ready with RTL support

Price: $59 | More Information

15. MH Magazine

MH Magazine is an older theme but it’s also a fast-loading theme designed to impress SEO experts. The code was written with the best SEO practices in mind. The theme is a widgetized template with multiple widget areas and comes with lots of custom widgets that you can place anywhere.

There are 12 demos of various layouts and color schemes to help you get started and show what can be done with the theme. It’s a great choice for any type of magazine, blog, or SEO-focused agencies.

Features include:

• Google fonts
• Unlimited colors
• Custom widgets
• FlexSlider 2
• Multiple layout options
• Clean code
• Theme customizations
• Responsive
• Translation ready

Price: $49 | More Information

Building an SEO Friendly Site Can Be Easy

That’s 15 of the best SEO friendly WordPress themes for 2016 that make your content highly discoverable. As you can see, being SEO friendly is more than just being compatible with SEO plugins. These themes include clean code that follows best practices for SEO to tell search engines about your content. Between these 15 themes you’re sure to find what you need to rank high in search engine results and get your content discovered.

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