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CMS ProTip #2 - Accessible On-Page SEO Elements

Posted Dec 15 2011 8:45 PM by TJ Furman

On-Page SEO While this is a common feature of the majority of content management systems these days, if your current CMS doesn’t allow you to modify certain on-page elements, it may be time to start shopping around. Each page within your site should be crafted and optimized with the overall goal of higher rankings and increased traffic in mind. Here are a few elements to check:

Title Tags

Title tags are probably the easiest, yet most important, element of any page to modify with most Content Management Systems. Each page within your site should have a well-crafted title tag that you (or your web developer) have written. Alternatively, in the case of larger sites, or e-commerce sites with lots of products, the content management system should be able to help generate very-friendly tags based upon the page or product name and the overall brand of the website.

Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions help increase the click-through rate for search engine listings. Any given CMS should allow you to modify each page’s meta description within your site. These are great places for a few quick sentences involving key phrases you’re targeting and a call to action to entice the user to click.

H1 Tags

A good CMS will allow you to simply highlight and style any text within your site with an H, or heading, tag. An H1 tag should be thought of as the headline of the page and should directly relate to the content on that particular page. Styling this text should happen automatically, making the job of the content creator much easier.

File Names and Alt Tags

Within your CMS, you’re going to be uploading content. This content should retain the original file name once upload (assuming that you named your images and videos with applicable key phrases). Also, when inserting an image onto a page, the option to add Alt Image Text should be presented. This text will help your odds of being relevant for Google Image searches.

Automated Elements

The elements that should be automated within your CMS for on-page SEO purposes are things like the URL structure, XML Sitemap, and robots.txt file. The URL that is generated for any given page should be friendly, without creating session IDs, or other unnecessary snippets. The XML Sitemap and robots.txt file are pretty much strictly for search engines and automatically generated by your CMS.

There are other elements of on-page SEO that are important (content creation, internal linking structure, etc.), but those are at the heart of every CMS. The elements listed above are extremely important and shouldn’t be a daunting task if you’ve chosen the right CMS for the job. If you're a bit new to SEO, feel free to download our SEO Whitepaper free of charge.

5 Lesser-Known Benefits of Software-as-a-Service

Posted Sep 16 2011 2:50 PM by TJ Furman

Since the idea of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has been around for quite a few years, the benefits have become pretty well known. The SaaS proponents stand behind the lower cost of entry, the speed of implementation and availability of the software (not installed). I wanted to dig a little deeper and take a look at some of the lesser known benefits of the Software-as-a-Service model.

No IT Staff Necessary

No IT Staff Necessary Many small to medium sized business don't have internal IT staff, which makes them a perfect candidate for SaaS adoption. In the world of web content management systems, an often-used alternative to SaaS is the Open Source platform (Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress ,etc). While these programs have their place in the market, they are often written for "geeks" by "geeks". We have helped numerous companies and organizations migrate away from these platforms after they have become frustrated with their supposedly "easy-to-use" open source system. Without internal IT staff, simplicity should become a major factor in the decision making process.

Frees Up IT Staff Time

If you do have the luxury of having an in-house IT staff, they are probably strapped for time and bogged down with multiple duties. Off-loading some of the workload of maintaining a web hosting server and a website is a quick, and usually cost-effective way, to make your IT staff more effective. Utilizing an easy-to-use, SaaS content management system allows your marketing staff to take control of the most powerful marketing tool at your disposal, your website. Keeping your IT staff out of your marketing efforts is essential to your online success.

Eliminates Frustrating Maintenance

SaaS products can be quickly and easily patched and upgraded by the company responsible for the software, eliminating time-consuming maintenance for the customer. Because SaaS products are built around one central core, applying a patch to it remedies any problems that may be occurring for all of the users. There is no need to worry about software versioning, expensive updates, or in-house hardware problems.

Less Learning Curve (Typically)

Easier Learning Curve Because SaaS products are web-based, users typically latch onto them faster than installed software. We all use the Internet every day, whether it be for browsing, shopping, or connecting with people, we have all become accustomed to web-based interfaces. SaaS products piggy-back off this familiar look and feel, making the learning curve much less intimidating.

Never Out of Date

Subscribing to a Software-as-a-Service platform grants you a free pass to each and every update that is released for the software. You can rest assured that you are getting the latest technology each and every time that you log onto the system. This allows you to focus on completing your tasks, not wondering if the system will work.

Which SaaS products do you utilize? What are some of the pros (or cons) that you see in the service offering?

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