There are multiple ways to optimize a Joomla website for search engines. In this article I am going to share with you some most important things you need to take care of in order to make your Joomla Website admirable in the eyes of search engines. So read on guys!
- Create unique Meta titles and descriptions for every page:
Meta tags that include title and description play an important role in CTR (Click through rate). Just like other CMSs, in Joomla too, you need to make sure that your title and descriptions are unique for every page, they should include your most important keywords and should clearly tell, what this page is about. When you are talking about Joomla, the title tags are marked as H1 for most of the pages, but still you need to pay special attention even if it is not.
- Perform Local SEO:
No matter you have a WordPress website or a Joomla website, local SEO can make a huge difference to your branding strategy. So first create a local business page on Google+, while doing that, also make sure that your name, address and phone number are present on home page and are in consistency with your local pages.
- Utilize Joomla Extensions:
Just like WordPress, Joomla also facilitates you with lots of plugins that can help you make your website search engine optimized. Some of the most popular plugins include SmartSEO, Sh404SEF, SEO Simple, Open Social Share, etc. Plugins like Sh404SEF keeps a check on your website health regarding to search engine guidelines including adding 301 redirects, check for duplicate content, etc. Moreover Joomla Social Share plugin enables social sharing widgets on your website thus making sharing more easier and quicker.
- Create and submit Sitemap:
The next step will need you to create sitemap. It is incredibly important to ensure that your website is properly indexed by search engine. You can make use of any of the Joomla extensions like Xmap, JSitemap, etc to create a website sitemap. Once the sitemap it created, you need to submit it to Google. To do that, you need to upload this Sitemap into your Google Webmaster Account.
- Improve website speed:
Ideally, a website shouldn’t take more than two seconds to load. The slower a website loads, the more visitors will bounce off. Having a good loading website will not only make your visitors stick around but will play a role in your search engine rankings as well. Do you know 40{d8b66277a7518e4eec372fc66ba9c89064d9fca13d781d7d97b205a7ede9dbc0} people abandon a website which takes more than 30 seconds to load. Moreover, the same source reveals that the delay of one second in page loading time can reduce conversions by 7{d8b66277a7518e4eec372fc66ba9c89064d9fca13d781d7d97b205a7ede9dbc0}.
To avoid the situation you can make use of plugins like iJoomla Speed Check, which keeps a check on your website loading speed. And what more, it is absolutely free. So friends, go ahead and give this plugin a try to ensure your website runs smoothly and evenly.
Now these are not the only tips, you need to keep in mind. SEO is vast and the main aim is to create a website that is loved by your users.
