Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Flipboard 0 If you’re evaluating a CMS/Blogging platform as part of your site redesign, there are an important set of questions to answer in order to ensure you’re selecting the right solution. SEO Questions for CMS/ Blogging Platforms: 1. Can it create a custom permalink URL structure? The platform should allow you to change your blog name, change your URL to include the category and blog post title with no additional levels added. 2. Does it support categories? Categories help organize blog posts into hierarchies, creates relevant pages and adds good quality keywords to the URL. 3. Does it have customizable and easy to fill in meta data? Title tag and meta description specifically should be customized to whatever you want on a blog by blog post level or page by headline. Segregate these elements if desired – override title tag and meta description if desired. 4. Does it auto add related posts/articles/pages? Related posts gives cross-linking a big boost and keeps the reader engaged on your website. 5. Can you customize the alt-text field to media? Pictures and videos should have alt-text field available when posting. Alt text is the alternative text used by text browsers and other Web user agents that can’t view images. 6. How clean is the code? Bloated software slows down and discourages crawlers – good CSS form via an include is a big plus. Internal cross- linking give will also give help your link equity across your website and keeps your readers engaged. 7. How fast is the page load time? Speed of page loading is important from a usability stand point as well as a algorithm standpoint. 8. Does it integrate social media profiles, sharing and content hooks? Increase your blog’s visibility by making it easy for your readers to share the content. 9. How does the system handle commenting on articles, blogs, news stories? Reduce spam by having a login to post comments. We like using Disqus since they also thread comments from the post and from individuals in a clean way. 10. How does it handle geo-targeting using 301 re-directs after sniffing browser vs a 302 to localized pages? If you are going to redirect pages, make sure the platform makes it easy for search engines to follow redirected links. 11. Does it have flexibility with breadcrumb structure and keywords in breadcrumb? Normally a default is included, but often tied to file name or folder structure. You need the flexibility to modify the keywords so you can structure it in a way that makes sense for your readers. 12. Do options include a visible sitemap page? Linked from footer or header for passing link value AND a sitemap .xml plug-in that auto updates when new content is created. 13. How are internal links created? Straight HTML? Redirects? If re-directs do they use 301s or 302? 14. Is there an option to add rel=nofollow to specific links? “nofollow” is an field that can be assigned to the rel attribute of an HTML a element to instruct search engines that a hyperlink should not influence the link target’s ranking in the search engine’s index. It is intended to reduce the effectiveness of certain types of search engine spam, thereby improving the quality of search engine results and preventing spamdexing from occurring. 15. Is there an option to add a rel=canonical attribute to the header? The rel=canonical attribute lets site owners suggest the version of a page that the search engine should treat as canonical. This helps search engines determine which URL sets contain identical content, and calculating the most relevant of these pages to display in search results. At Optify, we’ve found WordPress to be a great platform that gives enough flexibility for marketers to optimize their website for search engines. What other platforms have you found to also meet your SEO needs? Twitter Tweet Facebook Share Email This article was written for Business 2 Community by Connor Brooke.Learn how to publish your content on B2C Join our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage Author: Connor Brooke Connor is a Scottish financial expert, specialising in wealth management and equity investing. Based in Glasgow, Connor writes full-time for a wide selection of financial websites, whilst also providing startup consulting to small businesses. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, and a Master’s degree in Investment Fund Management, Connor has … View full profile ›More by this author:ACH Crypto Price Prediction 2022 – Is it a Buy?Lucky Block Partners with Dillian Whyte ahead of Heavyweight Showdown with Tyson FuryNFT Pixel Art – The Best NFT Collections for 2022