Use Blocks for Content Distribution and Drupal SEO
So in my last article I talked about my new favorite open source software application for web development and I posted my review of Drupal CMS. Now I have to admit I love Drupal but it is weak in just about everything and SEO is definitely non existent in a generic fresh install but that may be a good thing in the end when you consider what you can accomplish with a little hard work and determination. Having a full and complete understanding o Drupal and al lit’s many features is certainly important for everything but even more so with SEO and search engine marketing in general. Knowing the difference between Blog posts, Book pages and Aggregator content can make or break your SEO on a Drupal site.
Drupal is raw and you need to do a lot of work to get up and running but once you get it going it is a sweet piece of free software and a great tool for building SEO ready websites. Understanding what kind of site you are building and your content sources really helps in getting started on your Drupal SEO and knowing what the site goals are and who the end users are are of great benefit. The first thing you want to do when you SEO a Drupal site is to sort out your Content Types, Vocabulary and desired Taxonomy which will lead to Meta Tag formats and URL Alias for the base layout of a site optimized for search engines. Because you have to set all details for your Drupal site such as Url Alias and Taxonomy Breadcrumb for search engine optimization you need first to understand your content layout and whether how you use Vocabulary tools and Tags or you could end up with a complete mess.
drupal pathauto settings
SEO with Drupal requires a number of modules such as PathAuto and Token for creating proper URL format as well as FeedAPI and News Page if you intend on syndicating content from other sites without paying a duplicate content penalty with Google. You will need to install Nodewords Module and Page Title Module for proper Meta Tags, Global Redirect for formatted URL alias and 301 redirects and you will need to enable Core features such as Path, Taxonomy and Menu for those to work.
On my site i use FeedAPI and News Page modules to import RSS feed content from other sites. I import the content as Story with proper reference to the original site on the News Page. I then link to it with a teaser in blockquotes on my Blog with additional fresh content from commentary that my bloggers create which spins the original article into unique website content. My next step is the use of Nodewords Module and Page Title Module for unique in page meta tags while using custom PathAuto settings to output the correct URL for SEO keyword inclusion. Here is where understanding your content payout helps because formatting URL’s based on Vocabulary and taxonomy can be a hassle.
Your PathAuto Rules will determine your final URL layout and you may find that you need to play around with your settings for the best results. I do totally suggest you settle the format or your URL’s immediately and before you import a lot of content that will be indexed by search engines. Although you can use the URL redirect to create new alias and 301 redirects it makes little sense to cause any type of change in the content format or any chances for confusion on resource location. The quickest and easiest way to end up in the Google Sandbox is to have too much duplicate content when you get started.
What theme your site uses makes a difference and you’ll want to make sure it makes proper use of H1, H2 and H3 tags. Be sure to include at least one header tag on every page by surrounding the title in H1 and if possible try using H3 or H4 around descriptive keywords or content teasers. Of courser site navigation and proper breadcrumb help end users move around your content as they do the same for search engines so make sure to check out the Custom Breadcrumbs Module for better layout and drill down SEO for your Drupal website.
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