Joomla SEO Tips

Recently, Joomla has become a popular tool for those looking to develop a website or blog. Unfortunately, Joomla isn’t very search engine friendly, and users will need to optimize their sites in order to attract the attention f search engine spiders. While it is true that all websites need to put some effort into their search engine optimization, it is especially true of Joomla sites. There are five tips on using Joomla SEO that will make a big difference in your search engine rankings.

1. Create a URL that is search engine friendly:  Joomla’s URL’s simply are not search engine friendly. You can make yours more friendly several different ways. Joomla has a plugin designed to assist you – the SEF plugin. This plugin is not active by default but can be easily activated on the global configuration page.  There are several ‘paid’ functions that can be purchased to assist you with your URL.  Finally, many choose to hire a consultant to ensure their URL is properly configured.
2. Titles and headings matter:  Titles and headings do more than help create an easy to understand flow for your website. In fact, spiders often turn to them to ensure your website is actually about the keywords you are using. Use your H1 tag for your title tag.
3. Create unique page titles:  Joomla has default titles for their pages – titles like ‘home’ are never going to attract search engine spiders. Use your menu manager to edit your page tittles. Be sure your titles include keywords but are still attractive to human readers.
4. Meta Data:  Meta information is still valuable, especially now that Google has preformed it’s “May Day” update.  Create Meta tags that are descriptive – this is the information that people will see on the search engine results page. Each page should have its own Meta data.
5. Link building is important:  just like traditional SEO, Joomla SEO should include a link-building component. There are actually several different programs out there that can help you ensure your links are valid. A large list of valid and relevant links is a great step towards improving your visibility.

Other components that work with traditional SEO should not be ignored either. Be sure to include a site map on your website. A great one is the samSiteMap. It will help you to create the somewhat complex trees that search engines look at to understand how your website works.
Learning a few tips on using Joomla SEO can help you to create a website that is valuable to you in several ways. First, it will increase your overall visibility on the web and will result in higher search engine rankings. Second, Joomla SEO will actually make your site more attractive to human readers as well. Don’t assume that a Joomla page works like other web pages. Be sure to focus your optimization efforts on areas that are specific to Joomla SEO.

By: Mel Joelle