Search Engine Optimisation for Joomla Websites
My name is Chris Diprose and I am the Manager of Internet Style Australia firm Kanga Internet. I’ve got been a full of life member of the Joomla Community for many years and have an established business based mostly upon Joomla Development in Melbourne, Australia. My main focus is Search Engine Optimization for Joomla Content Management System.
This text focuses on the first few steps in the Internet Development and Style of a good search optimized web site in Joomla. Okay let’s get into it. Once I have setup the quality Joomla installation there are a few part varieties that are necessary to install and I believe these to be:- a sitemap part and a SEF URL changing component. These are by so much the most important elements to have on any Joomla Installation.
What’s a SEF URL changing component and the way will it relate to Web Style in Joomla? SEF stands for Search Engine Friendly and a traditional installation of Joomla has a URL like this: index.php?possibility=com_content&task=view&id=five&Itemid=half dozen
When it comes to look engines they are really good in several ways but the traditional Joomla URL describes nothing regarding the web page and its contents and therefore they very do dislike it in many ways. It is what I call, Search Optimization Stunted (SOS). I favor this term as a result of it describes precisely what it wants; some help! This is often where a SEF URL changing component comes into play. These types of elements take the traditional Joomla URL and amendment it into one thing more meaningful to each us and therefore the search engines. e.g.: obtain-blue-widgets-here.html
From my Net Style & Development experience this is often the single most significant element installation you can build on a Joomla Website. I want to detail my personal best picks. There are some offered to us but I think the JoomSEF component to be the most effective of the simplest when it involves Search Engine Friendly URL’s. There is only one disadvantage to choosing this part and that’s a hidden advert in the code from the first makers. If you search on Google for “Joomsef patch” then you must be ready to search out a decent article on how to urge around this problem. Looking at the “best of the remainder” of the SEF parts we tend to find a brand new element (Could 2007) called sh404SEF which is ad free, if you search on the Joomla extensions web site you may realize this one. I think it to be strongly based on JoomSEF; in look, feel and functionality I’ve got noticed this. Another SEF friendly element for Joomla is OpenSEF. When OpenSEF was released regarding a year ago it had been great however since that time there has been no updates and the project has lagged means behind Joomla development. Having said though, it still does a reasonable job of converting Joomla URL’s to go looking engine friendly but I found in my testing that it proved to be duplicating too several URL’s.
Which ever one you decide on, download the element and then using the Joomla Administration interface install the component. Then go to Web site->International Configuration->SEO (tab) and guarantee “Search Engine Friendly URL’s” is set to yes. Ensure your htaccess.txt file in the basis directory of the Joomla installation is changed to .htaccess and follow the directives within the file in a way to flip on “mod_rewrite” – this can be straight forward. Then simply attend the JoomSEF part and configuration and turn it on. Once this is done you should be generating friendly URL’s on the front end interface thus you should go and check. It’s as straightforward as that!!
Okay therefore lets move on to what I think about the next most important thing to try to to to your Joomla installation once the SEF component is put in and working a Sitemap.
In my books there’s very only one legitimate and good sitemap element and it’s referred to as Joomap. The standard version of this element does not output a decent XML file for Google therefore I also counsel looking on Google for “joomap patch” and you must be ready to search out a commentary to steer you thru editing the Joomap part also. The installation of this part is the identical as before, we do it through the Joomla Administration interface. With no different configuration once installation we will simply go straight to the component and select it. Now we just choose the menu’s we have a tendency to wish to incorporate in our sitemap. Usually these are main menu and high menu. Now we simply create a new menu item and choose the component to link to it, being Joomap and the rest takes care of itself. Easy!!
One alternative advantage of Joomap is that it permits you to hook in to Google Sitemaps. On the admin interface these may be a Google Sitemap URL given. All we tend to need to try and do to get a dynamic Google sitemap is to copy paste this URL into Google webmaster interface and currently whenever Google wants to download your whole website sitemap it gets a dynamic version – which is significantly higher than just hoping Google can realize all your pages! With this sitemap it tells Google all of your pages and where they are thus it will scan them a lot of affectively.
Okay now I’ve got lined off the primary 2 steps in Search Engine Optimization for the Joomla Content Management System. These are the primary two steps every Net Designer and Developer should take when they want to Search Optimize Joomla.
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