Front-end
This check-list is to give you an overview of which elements to remember when creating and maintaining pages in Ramboll's CMS, Sitecore. We are especially focusing on how to make pages Search Engine Optimised. Here you can see how our websites' front-end and back-end are linked. The numbers on the two following illustrations refer to the headlines.
This is how the search result is displayed on Google:
And this is how the actual webpage is displayed:
What is SEO and keywords?
Search Engine Optimisation is the work we do to make sure search engines, such as Google, find and index our websites. When done right this also ensures that we appear as high as possible on the result list – preferably on page one as this is where most users stop browsing.
"Keywords" are the words that we assume users search for when looking for the services we provide. It is important to not only be conscious about how to include these in the pages, but also to make sure that these are also the same words that users actually are searching are for. An infamous example of this is that lots of travelling companies used the expression "Low fares" on their sites, while potential customers were searching for "Cheap flights".
1. The URL – name it properly
It is very important to name pages correctly when creating them. We have tools in Sitecore for redirecting badly named pages, but it is far better to have search engines indexing them correctly the first time around.
When mapping which keywords to use, it is vitally important that you include the technical expert that is the "owner" of the page you are creating, in the process. While they do not need to know all details in the work you are doing, these people know what keywords to use. Remember that you are there to ensure the overall quality of the language and neither Google nor any other search engine will reward you for bloating the text with keywords. If there are alternative keywords, you should try to verify which one the users actually search for, by using Google's keywords tool. Create a free account to login and use the tool:
http://adwords.google.com
The name you choose for the page will be part of the URL. Remember to use hyphens (-) to signify any spaces between words. Eg "Ground-engineering", rather than "Ground engineering", because proper spaces will be displayed as the rather ugly %20-code, which affect search results ranking negatively.
The Sitecore pop-up window for creating new pages:
2. Meta-descriptions
We have a separate field in Sitecore where you can write an optional "meta-description". This is not displayed directly on the webpage as such, but is part of the HTML-code, and currently used by eg Google as the short description of the search result.
Please note: you have a maximum space of 155 characters available here. You can test your text here: http://www.adzoomin.com/seo-tools/google-snippet-builder.php
If you do not write a specific meta-description, Sitecore has been coded to use the first 155 characters of the teaser text as default meta-description.
3. Meta-title (called "Alternative-browser-title" in Sitecore)
Just like the meta-description, you can also write a meta-title in Sitecore. This is displayed both on the actual web page and in Google's result list. It is important to use the keyword that you would like users to find the page by here.
Please note, you have a maximum space of 65 characters available here. You can test your text here: http://www.adzoomin.com/seo-tools/google-snippet-builder.php
And just as with the meta-descriptions, if you do not write a specific meta-text, Sitecore has been coded to use the first 65 characters of the title text as default meta-title.
4. Menu point title (called "Title" in Sitecore)
Ideally the title of the menu point is the keyword that you would like users to find the page by, but usability is most important: We are writing to be read by actual users, not search engines. However, in our example this is just the case. "Ground engineering" is what it should be called.
5. Page title (called "HeaderInTop" in Sitecore)
The name of the menu point and the actual title of the page is normally the same. As above, it is important to include keywords when possible, but usability is most important.
6. Teaser text
The teaser text is displayed prominently at the top of the page and should be used to tell the user what the page is about. If possible, use keywords here as well.
In all, the keyword you are focusing on should appear around 5 times on the page (ie in teaser text and the body text).
7. Search optimising images
All images used on the page should be named just as properly as the other elements. All images should have a default alternate text (alt-text) added when first uploading them in the Media Library. However, you can also choose an alternative alt-text when using images on the page. This should describe what is actually happening on the image, as well as using keywords. Eg "Workers down in the Malmö City tunnel - Ramboll assisted MCG with Ground Engineering in this project"
8. Body text
It is of course important to use the keyword(s) that you would like users to find the page by, in the actual body text as well. If it can be included naturally as part of headlines in the body text, or in the link-text to internal or external pages or documents. This is very positive as Google weights headings and link texts as important, but remember to use it in the actual text as well.
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