Drupal is an open-source platform which is currently used by millions of websites around the world. It is highly known for its active community offering support and solutions to build better solutions with Drupal. It even offers thousands of modules, designs, and out-of-the-box features to create any kind of website you want. But does these Drupal benefits help you optimize your website?
Accroding to Museproject, an SEO company in Perth Australia, Drupal offers many SEO (search engine optimization) specific modules that can help you optimize your website to boost your search rankings and drive organic traffic. But you must determine the right set of SEO modules while performing Drupal website development. Focus on your website requirements and select the modules that suit your business model and objectives. So, here’s a guide that explains the steps involved in getting started with the right SEO module and optimize your Drupal website.
Step 1: URLs:
Begin by enabling clean URLs in your system settings. Drupal provides an ID for all the URLs by default. Enabling clean URLs turns the page titles into readable URLs. A readable URL is important for search engines to index your pages. It also helps users remember the URL and return to your page.
Step 2: Select SEO Modules:
Now get some modules from the Drupal.org repository and fill out the SEO toolbox. You can consider checking out top four SEO modules we have listed below.
- Redirect:With this module, you can create 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones. You can get this module in both Drupal 7 and Drupal 8.
- Metatag: With the Metatag module, you can add a title, description, keywords, and a few other advanced search options on each page. The custom browser titles and page titles inform the search engines about the content of your page in detail. This module is available in Drupal 7 and 8.
- Path Auto: The Path Auto module automatically generates the URLs of your page on the basis of the content you define. For instance, if you choose the content type as a blog post, then the URLs will always be “/blog/[blog title].” This way you do not have to specify the path alias manually. Moreover, if you provide keyword-rich titles for your content, your URLs will also contain them and improve your content’s rank within the search engines. The Path Auto module is available in Drupal 7 as well as Drupal 8.
- XML Sitemap: By using the XML sitemap, you can create a sitemap and allow the search engines to easily find and index your web pages. You can even submit your sitemap to the top search engines. This module is also available for both Drupal 7 and Drupal 8.
However, you can find and add many more modules that can match your requirements to enhance website performance.
Step 3: Install & Configure Modules:
Once you select the modules, install and configure them perfectly according to the website analysis and your business objectives.
Step 4: Define the Keyword:
Now you need to search, refine and filter the targeted keyword list by using some popular keyword tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Moz, and WordTracker. The statistics researched with the help of these tools can help you prepare the list of keywords for your site pages.
Step 5: Map the Keywords for Targeted Pages:
Finally, it’s time to start optimizing your site. Start by aligning one page to each keyword in your list. This will help you rank higher each of the keywords. After mapping your keywords, create a description for each page, and update the page titles and content. Ensure that your targeted keywords are included in the content. The search engine algorithms keep changing all the time. So, enable an analytics software that keeps a watch on the keyword trends and website traffic.
Congratulations! Your Drupal site is now optimized.
Is your Drupal website well optimized? Which modules do you use for optimizing your site? Let us know in the comments below.