SEO is a term that most business owners avoid like the “plague.” They just don’t understand it; they don’t know what Google’s algorithms are; they have heard of “keywords” perhaps, but little more. The smart ones realize that they need help and employ the services of SEO specialists who have become experts, who know what “clues” Google looks for in determining the value and usability of a website or blog posts to visitors. These “experts” know that value can come from content but also several other elements, such things as helpful URL’s, sitemaps, meta tags and more.
Content Management Systems
There are three major content management systems (CMS) in use today – WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. By far, WordPress has been the “favored child” because of the vast number of plugins that support SEO, probably the most common being Yoast. All of these plugins have eased the “pain” for those who really don’t understand SEO – tools that will do it for them. And while Google considers high-level content as a favorite in its page ranking, there are several other ways to increase a page rank too. These come in the form of apps and plugins, and Joomla developers have hopped onto these with some powerful plugins.
1) SEOSimple
2) OSmap
You can also create great image sitemaps with this tool if you use the pro version. If images are important to your site, you should have an image sitemap. This will also help images to be included in the Google Image Search.
3) JoomSEF
Another great feature of this plugin? If you have a site with an international reach, and you have multilingual sites, JoomSEF will generate localized, search engine friendly URL’s for those sites as well (in conjunction with JoomFish).
Some important features of JoomSEF include the following:
- Automatically re-writes original Joomla URL’s
- Enhances site SEO rating
- Manages and auto-generate meta tags
- Provides support for UTF-8 URL’s and URL translations with JoomFish
- Helps in the handling of 301 re-directs
- Has a Google Analytics connector
4) sh404SEF
This has been an extremely popular Joomla extension for a long period of time. The plugin is pretty comprehensive and does what many of the other extensions mentioned here already do as well as much more. Probably the most important feature is the ability to track social sharing and to utilize Google analytics through Joomla’s back end development. Among its many features include:
- URL rewriting
- Automatic 404 redirect to the most relevant pages
- Support for Twitter Cards
- Google Tags support manager
- Ability to add social media buttons anywhere on your site
- Automatically removes duplicate URL’s
- Uses Project Honey Pot to protect forms and contact pages from spam
- Controls access from suspicious domains (uses IP blacklisting)
- Provides standard install of lots of third-party SEF plugins
5) ManiacSEO
This is an all-encompassing plugin for those who are new to this whole SEO management and need easy and automatic methods for improving SEO without having to go to the backend. This is a relatively new plugin and has not yet been fully rated by Joomla users. However, it is quite possible that this may be the answer to WordPress Yoast. The extension offers the following:
- A Backlink Checker
- Keyword Suggestions
- Calculation of keyword density (2 – 5% please)
- Keyword Position
- Social Analytics
- A Page-rank and Plagiarism Checker
- An SEO Analyzer
6) Article Generator
As a Joomla extension, this tool will automatically generate new articles for you, based on feed sources and/or keywords you provide. And you have the ability to control the images that might be used, along with many other elements. By default, there are backlinks included to the developer, but these can be removed with a click, and you can add your own backlinks to other pages on your site or to related past posts. Among Joomla users, this extension, although a bit pricey, has a 100% rating in functionality, ease of use, and support.
Do Your Research
This article is written by Nelma Lumme. She is a freelance content writer for GetAcademicHelp.com. Originally from Finland, she now lives in Chicago, IL. Nelma studied sociology at the University of Tampere, and now she helps people with career and motivation questions, providing useful tips through her articles. Her topics of interest cover mostly psychology, career development, education, self-improvement, and relationships. Follow her: Facebook | Twitter | Google+.