Many people are building web sites with Joomla! because it is an easy-to use-and understand content management system. The fact that it is free is also a factor that makes Joomla! one of the most popular systems that you can use to build your own web site.
It is only after your Joomla! site is built that you wonder why there are such less number of visitors and why you don't rank as highly in the search engines as you thought you would. At that moment you start investigating different sources and possibilities to improve your rankings and get more visitors. Joomla! SEO will help you attract those visitors and improve the way you rank in search engines by giving you the techniques and knowledge to help you achieve your goals.
Chapter 1 will give you an overview of what we will cover in this book, and get you started with the foundations of your SEO strategy by creating your keyword list. Besides that you will set up a baseline to monitor your progress, using some statistical tools.
Chapter 2 helps you understand and implement the best way to structure your content for better search engine results as well as giving your visitors a better experience. We also look at files such as sitemap.xml and robots.txt to guide Search Engine Robots. You will also improve on your menu structure so that it reflects your new web site structure.
Chapter 3 covers the installation and use of the Joomlatwork SEF patch, which essentially gives you even more power to optimize your Joomla! site by enhancing some core Joomla! items. You will see what improvements are made and how you can benefit the most from these changes. We also look at some of the basics of meta tags.
Chapter 4 covers content ideas, deciding which keywords to target, and the importance of structure in the content of your pages. You will also learn about keyword placement, how to enhance your titles, and the use of headers and paragraphs. You will read more about the meta tags description and keywords, along with the importance, and proper use of those fields.
Chapter 5 helps you set up a blog within Joomla! and shows you the external tools that you need to use to get the most out of your blogging efforts. You will read more about the importance of blogging and commenting systems, along with how to implement solutions that make Joomla! an even better blogging tool.
Chapter 6 covers the installation and configuration of sh404SEF—the best component for creating search engine friendly URLs in Joomla!. You will learn about the basic and advanced configuration settings of this component, and how you can use it to your advantage. We will also look at possible errors that may arise and how to fix them.
Chapter 7 covers Joomla! templates and their influence on your web site. You will learn what makes an SEO template a good one and how to find one that fits your needs. We also look at the choice between free and commercial templates, along with the need for code validation and source optimization.
Chapter 8 discusses all the possibilities for improving the speed of your web site. Speed is a necessity for users and Search Engine Robots. You will learn about the built-in cache system, and learn how to find possible delays and how to correct them. You will see the effects of image optimization and the best way to use images in your pages.
Chapter 9 covers the need for and use of statistics programs to track your visitors and progress. You will look at the data provided by such programs and learn how to interpret them. StatCounter and Google Analytics are described to give you an insight into the way you can use the data collected from your site, in order to gain even better rankings, and to improve the conversion rate of your site.
Chapter 10 covers several different ways to get more incoming links, from commenting on other sites to blogging on other platforms. Building incoming links is time consuming, but if you do it the right way it is a very good way to boost your web site's rankings.
Appendix A covers a complete case study of creating a web site in Joomla! and how it evolves. It takes you from choosing a domain name to structuring the site for best performance. You see what benefits and problems are involved in finding the right template, as well as the installation of components, and how to get into the search engines. We also touch on the use of Google webmaster tools.
Appendix B covers Joomla! robots.txt and .htaccess files. Especially the later can cause big problems for a Joomla! webmaster if it is configured the wrong way. There is an explanation of the different options within .htaccess and robots.txt. You get real life examples that can help you solve common issues to prevent error 500 pages on your site.