seo for drupal developers

SEO for Drupal DevelopersRick Donohoe, Microserve

@RickDonohoe

Search Engine Optimisation: think of SEO as “What can I do to help Google promote my site?”

Introduction

SEO concepts are vast - won’t cover marketing, black hat, content writing etc.

Matt Cutts - Heads up the Google SEO team

“We can hypothesise, but nobody really knows”

Why is SEO important to me?Project success: Increasing engagement and traffic is good for the client, but

also good for us.

Success = great reference, more work, more money.

Why is SEO important to me?Other reasons may also include:

1. Whilst pitching for the business you used the phrase “SEO? That’s my

middle name”

2. Your client works with an SEO consultant, and the sudden increase in your

acceptance criterias’ complexity makes you want to punch your screen.

Drupal SEO Modules-The “Must have’s”

Gathers all website data

Can provide great insights into the quality of your build – are the end-users

engaging with your website as you expect?

Good opportunity for AM/PM to pinpoint new development

Link search to pinpoint content struggles

Google Analytics

PathautoURLs are used by Google as a factor in ranking for keywords.

URls also help the user know where they are on the site and what your

content is (e.g. /event/EVENT-NAME)

[node:menu-link:parent:url:path]/[node:title] trick. E.g./cycle ,

/cycle/where-to-ride

Global Redirect – use this to automate a canonical URL to reduce the

likelihood of Duplicate content.

URL RedirectSimply put allows your client to fix 404s with redirects.

Useful tip 1: Your client can use this to create their own print short URLs.

Useful tip 2: Your client WILL change page titles, which will likely change the

URL. This module adds an automatic redirect.

Need to import redirects? Try Path redirect import module to use a

spreadsheet. Even better, let your client do this!

MetatagUsed for SERPs ->

Allows your client to set their own Meta title and Meta descriptions.

Title should be between 10 and 70 characters, and description should be

between 70 and 160 characters.

Set defaults per content type using [tokens]

Sub-modules allow you to put a whole range of metatags in. More on that

shortly…

SEO Principles applicable to the build phase

Getting the HTML structure rightHow Google “sees” your content (H1, H2, H3…)

For each page, ensure a single H1 exists, then use remaining heading tags

to structure content. Often the logo is used as the homepage H1.

Limit the WYSIWYG formats to H2 and H3, that way your client doesn’t add

H1’s like they’re going out of fashion.

For all content choose wisely between a content type and an entity

Getting the HTML structure right (2)Remove unnecessary HTML where applicable, as it bloats the page and

affects HTML/text ratio.

If you want to go a step further, ensure headings are only used for unique

content (e.g. no sidebar, header or footer headings).

Getting links rightSave yourself a nightmare by making the client's job easier:

Pathologic - Prevents linking to wrong environments

CKEditor link - Provides WYSIWYG autocomplete link style

Ext Link - Automatically opens all ext links in a new tab

Promoting contentSitemap and XML Sitemap

- Can be good for an overview

ShareThis

- Beware of performance implications and “Measure

copy & shares of your site's Content” default setting

Optimising content for Social Media Channels

OG tags (Facebook)Requires Metatag: Opengraph sub-module with the

following fields set per content-type at a global level:

Content type (Article)

Page URL

Content Title

Content Description

Image URL / Secure Image URL

Twitter cardshttps://dev.twitter.com/cards/types/summary-large-

image

Requires Metatag: Twitter Cards sub-module with the

following fields set per content-type at a global level:

Twitter card type

Creator's Twitter account

Page URL

Title

Description

Image URL

Schema“When your web pages include

structured data markup, Google

(and other search engines) can

use that data to index your

content better, present it more

prominently in search results,

and surface it in new

experiences like voice answers,

maps, and Google Now.”

Other

OtherOther things that SEO tools will look for...

Impact of Responsiveness, Performance and Security

403 and 404 pages

Alt tags - http://www.mediacurrent.com/blog/describing-images-improved-web-accessibility

Touch Icons

Getting ready for launch day

Getting ready for launch dayDon’t get caught at the last hurdle:

Make sure robots.txt is fully accessible

Check your XML sitemap is correct and not cached to a dev URL

Ensure all applicable domains redirect to a single www domain (or non-www

if that floats your boat!)

Ensure your GA code is correctly set

Ensure all redirects are added - tip use site:example.com in Google.

Check your error logs and 404 report – You can spot any issues and/or URLs

missed.

Post-launch“It’s launched we can all go home now”

- This is a bad attitude to have!

Measure usage data and recommend

improvements.

Use Google Analytics to help you .

That’s all folks! Any questions?