On Page Optimization, or OPO, is the first step you should take when optimizing your Joomla CMS Web Site for improved Search Engine ranking. The use of OPO is extremely beneficial when attempting to improve the Visibility of your web site content.  The quality of your content, and your ability to target the keyword terminology for that content, are both extremely important. To be frank, OPO is the most important requirement when optimizing your web site.

To get started, take the time to search for and review websites that have similar products or services.  Examine the content they provide, the terminology they are using, and review their placement and rankings. You can visit sites like SEOBOOK.com to get a general idea on the popularity of terms related to your industry. The statistics found on SEOBOOK.com are not current, but can point you in the right direction. National or International phrases will be harder to tackle, especially the ones that are very popular. Try to find phrases that are realistic at first, building on them later as you gain positive feedback from site statistics.

The Joomla SEF Component is setup to give you control over Page Titles, Meta Tags, and Directory Structure. Google as well as other search engines return to your site more frequently when your content changes. This is why it is important to consistently update your web site by adding new content, and making minor changes to content, page titles, and meta tags. Search engines love dynamic web site content, and Joomla SEF with the Webuddha SEO Mambot allows you to rotate information to achieve this effect. Fresh content is always important to improve your web site value as it grows and develops a stronger page rank.

The sister to On Page Optimization is OSO, or Off Site Optimization, which describes the many avenues available for creating relationships with affiliate web sites.  The goal of OSO is to consistently make arrangements with online directories and partner web sites in order to receive an in-bound link from their web site to yours.  Several things affect the quality of in-bound links, but generally the higher the affiliate web site ranking, the greater the value of the in-bound link.

Joomla SEF delivers a manageable platform for creating relationships for your in-bound OSO links, allowing you to managing Unique Search Engine Friendly URLs that keep your target phrases in mind. An example would be creating a Joomla SEF Alias that relates the Search Engine Friendly URL http://www.website.com/red-apples.html to your content article discussing the topic of “Red Apples.”  With consideration to OPO, you would update you page content, Page Titles, and Meta tags to target the terminology of Red Apples.  Using the Joomla SEF hit tracking options, or working with tools like Google Analytics, you can track the number of visitors that reach your “Red Apples” web site content.

When managing the Search Engine Friendly URLs in Joomla SEF you will find an SEO Optimization tab that provides advanced Page Title and Meta Tag Control for a specific page or blog section. This section of the component overwrites the default Joomla Meta tags, giving administrators the ability to directly manipulate Page Titles and Meta Tag Content. This feature can be very useful when targeting multiple phrases and keywords.

With the release of v2.1.0, the Joomla SEF package is on track to becoming a powerful Search Engine Optimization tool for the Joomla CMS system.  With the ability to manage unlimited web address aliases, distribute traffic from in-bound OSO strategies, and target key terminology for specific marketing agendas, the Joomla SEF component is an invaluable addition to the Joomla CMS system.
 

Markus Nelson is the president of Blue Light Labs Multimedia, and has been providig Search Engine Optimization to the Atlanta market for over 5 years.