Every business needs a great website to make its presence known in the world, and every website needs SEO to gain the highest position in search engine results page. One is incomplete without the other. But does search engine optimization alone has the power to make your website appear on the first page of Google search results? Any expert worth his salt would tell you that for SEO to work, a website needs to have a few winning traits. Joomla is one such feature that can help you make your marketing efforts a success. Let us discuss how.
Joomla in a nutshell
Joomla is a content management system that is equipped with built-in SEO features. The Metadata options tab and page display tab appearing from the Joomla version 1.5 menus are examples of SEO features that are present. In the global configuration, there is an SEO settings tab also. In versions after Joomla 1.7, there are more SEO features such as the option for including page name in the site title, menu items have Metadata options, article title options with aliases provided, and the page heading is made visible to search engines by displaying it as H1 heading.
Since high ranking in search engines is the ultimate goal of every SEO Company, web developers seek the best tool and content management system for creating websites with the most SEO-friendly features. Joomla templates are widely used for creating websites. The templates are like ready-made offerings that can be customized to speed up the process of website design. In this post, the utility and use of Joomla templates have been discussed with a focus on how to make websites lovable to search engines.
Joomla templates explained
Joomla templates actually help web developers to breathe life into websites. After the content and modules are put in place, web developers like to envisage how the website will look upon completion, and what kinds of response it will generate from users. This is achieved by using templates that are like the shell of websites consisting of a series of files that help to visualize the final product. It actually provides a platform on which the website is laid out to get a feel of it. The impact of the menu style, color, fonts, basic layout design, navigation controls, background, and header of the website can be gauged by using templates. Depending on how one feels after using the template, suitable modifications are made to the website.
Templates and SEO rankings
Joomla is undoubtedly one of the most powerful and versatile content management systems that are used by SEO companies. It is easy to use and can be scaled up conveniently, which are the primary reasons for its popularity. But this does not mean that building websites on the Joomla platform and using Joomla templates will give you automatic benefits of ranking well in search results. The possibilities of good ranking are immense provided the opportunities are used correctly by you. This requires thorough understanding about the SEO features that are incorporated in Joomla.
Readable and search engine friendly URL
Search engine ranking depends on how websites are indexed by search engines. It begins with the URL name that you select for your website. For quick indexing, the URL that you choose has to be easily readable by search engines to gain an advantage in indexing. The cardinal rule is that the URL name should be short and crisp and it should include keywords. Particularly, there has to be a search engine friendly component inserted in the URL. SH404SEF is an SEO extension feature for Joomla. This feature can be used for improving search rankings. It also helps to monitor the origin of 404 errors. You can use it to fix broken areas of your website.
Organized content
You have to comply with the SEO guidelines of search engines, and Google shows the way. The content on your website has to be well organized in a logical manner so that it makes perfect sense to the users. The content has to be divided into categories and sub-categories first, and then the entire bundle has to be clustered together under a single category. All the content has to be organized in a hierarchical manner. Under the category of Joomla, there can be sub-categories like Joomla SEO, Joomla extensions, Tips, tricks, etc. Similar contents are put into common categories. Organized content is not only liked by search engines, but also by end users who can turn into your customers if they like your website!
Joomla has the in-built capacity to organize content, and you have to choose appropriate categories and sub-categories that match your content plan. This can help to boost your SEO efforts to a great extent.
Optimized menu structure for internal links
Internal links have high impact on page ranks as revealed by SEO services Chicago. This is driven by a defined menu structure that is specially optimized, keeping in mind the Joomla SEO. The featured articles component is linked to the home page which is created accordingly. This allows any article from any category to be featured based on the link. This is followed by creating a menu item that is linked to every parent category. Under the parent category, sub-menus are created to accommodate sub-categories belonging to the parent category.
The menu acquires a logical structure that is top-down, which is very much liked by search engines.
Create internal links
Creating internal links is critical for Joomla SEO success. Internal links help in two ways:
- Internal links are used to encourage readers to read other relevant contents on the website by directing them towards it. Relevant topics of your own content can be linked in the process. This adds more value to the reading experience. Readers derive much-enriched experience from it. The bounce rate is reduced in this process and search engines receive positive signals about the website.
- The second type is the internal structure links that help page rank to be passed from one page to another. This type of link is created by linking contents of different categories and sub-categories by using the menu structure as discussed in the preceding paragraph. New content can be quickly ranked by this method.
Page titles are the highest impacting SEO factors that influence on-page SEO ranking. The Joomla SEO plug-in SH404SEF can work wonders for you.
Author Bio
Selina Jenkins has worked for the SEO industry for more than 15 years and is presently a consultant in all matters of SEO. She has worked with a leading Chicago SEO company. An avid blogger, she loves spending time sharing her experiences about her SEO success with her readers. She loves to cook and go on long drives with her family.