Top Search Engine Ranking Using Content Management Systems

A Content Management System (CMS) allows you to add, edit or delete content to your website without having to create and format the pages manually. All the pages get generated on the fly, the CMS application picks the template, adds the headers and footers, generates the menus and blocks for your page and then automatically renders the page.

The main reason people hesitate to use CMS is because they think a CMS site will not perform well with search engines. But when used properly, CMS can actually help with scoring points with the search engines. This article shows you how.

We all know that content is king and that the primary function of today's Internet is to deliver content to those that are seeking it. CMS allows you to easily manage multiple pages on your site, categorized into appropriate topics and categories.

While it is a fact that most free CMS's available were not designed with the search engine spider in mind, CMS applications are flexible and can be tweaked to help you gain a top rankings with search engines.

How Do You Customize A CMS Application To Improve Search Engine Rankings?

First, there is the issue of dynamic URLs. Most CMS's will generate URLs with parameters embedded into them. As an example, each article link on your site may look like this:

http://yoursite.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=
News&file=article&sid=35&SESSIONID=200dbf5df81843102bc2ba2560207841

Not only does it look ugly, the search engines probably won't spider it. It's is best to cast that URL, into something like this:

http://yoursite.com/article35.html

This can be achieved by making use of the web server module called mod-rewrite

To use this, you'll need to add a rule to your .htaccess file using regular expressions to convert the URL. The following 2 lines added to your .htaccess file (in your document root) will achieve the URL conversion for the example above.

RewriteEngine on

RewriteRule ^article([1-9][0-9]*).* modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=$1

For more details on mod-rewrite, have a look at powersitesystem.com

The session id is usually not necessary in the URL. Most users have cookies enabled so CMS can store the session id using cookies. URL rewriting for session maintenance can and should be turned off in your web server settings.

Which CMS Application Do You Use?

For my purposes, the PostNuke Open Source Content Management System works well. But there are many CMS applications available that are open source and are easy to install. To access a review of the various CMS's available see biz-whiz.com - For a hands-free CMS setup with training to help build a search engine friendly website see powersitesystem.com

Site Navigation

Generally SEO's feel that having the navigation links at the bottom or on the right side of your page allow you to position your optimized content towards the beginning of your html page, but users are accustomed to naturally look for a navigation menu towards the top left of the page. Attention to the anchor text used in the navigation links is important because these links will appear on all the pages of your site.

Islands of Related Content

When you add content to your CMS, you would classify it into a topic. A CMS like PostNuke, allows you to choose a category and a topic for each article that you add. The CMS will automatically create links in the chosen category page and topics page. If you define your topics and your categories properly, you can create a brilliant linking strategy.

Conclusion

Setting up a CMS managed website that can achieve good search engine rankings is possible if you take care of the key factors as outlined above. For proof that a properly customized CMS application can help you to gain top search engine rankings see the links in the signature below.

Getting The Best From Drupal Content Management Systems
Drupal is one of the most popular content management systems used across the web. It seems the popularity of the Drupal content management system grows by the day, too. And while the CMS is known for its user-friendliness and its ability to be used by even the non-tech set, to get the most out of Dr...
The Future of Web Design is Content Management!
Gather the courage to develop your own Content Management Systems (CMS). If you dont, you may lose clients to web design companies that offer this money saving option.
Content Management Systems
There is a buzz in the online community about a technology that empowers the average computer user with the ability to create and maintain their very own web presence. In the past, individuals who took interest in having and opera...
Good Web Design - What is it?
There is unlimited possibilities when it comes to designing a website. Flash, Database, content management, Client Login, etc. A question to ask yourself when deciding how to do your website is:...
Top Search Engine Ranking Using Content Management Systems
Management System (CMS) allows you to add, edit or delete content to your website without aving to create and format the pages manually. All the pages get generated on the fly, the CMS application picks the template, adds the headers and footers, generates the menus and b...
Of Google, Amazon and Weblogs: reputation management evolves
Reputation management has emerged as a core competency at many of the best-known Web sites. Every few months, another tool emerges to separate the good from the indifferent and the bad. By David Walker How do you sort out the goo...
Developing and Managing Web Site Content
If the way to a mans heart is through his stomach, the way to a site visitors and search engines heart is through palatable visual and textual food - web site content. However, the two most important factors that ultimately determine the success or failure of a web site is the manner in which ...
When CMS Met SEO - Using The Power Of Content Management Systems
Search Engine Optimization revolves around providing useful, unique content on your website and making sure that search engines can find and understand it easily...
Choosing A CMS (Content Management System)
The article offers comprehensive advice on choosing a CMS that would be both search-engine friendly and suit your personal needs. Learn how to choose the right stuff!
The Mysteries of Search Engine Ranking
Raise your hand if you know what the location or frequency method means to an SEO expert? Read on if you cant explain it. This is stuff you need to know.