Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a recurrent concern for any website. What most people do not understand is that Content Management System (CMS) driven websites should be approached differently than static sites. Each web page on a static site exists as a file on a server, whereas CMS driven websites use templates to retrieve content from a database.

SEO service providers are not familiar with static sites and they do not comprehend the necessities and challenges of working with dynamic sites. Once you realize the technical implications to all SEO recommendations, you can guarantee they will work for your CMS platform and content authors. One of the crucial lessons that SEO service providers should know is how to solve CMS problems. Below are 5 SEO tips for CMS driven websites.

1.  No Frames/Iframes

Search engines find it extremely difficult to understand frames. They cannot index iframe content in the approved manner. Rather than give credit to the URL that displays the content they give the credit to the iframe URL. CMS systems therefore, should avoid depending on frames or iframes to display content.

For example, Google's structured content tool will allow you to add rich HTML snippets to your CMS pages to allow the search engine understand your content. The primary HTML is usually too complex for website editors to understand and the tool should help with this without having to edit the website HTML.

2. Support for the rel=canonical Tag

 A CMS-driven website normally allows display of content with multiple URLs. You must have a plan to manage the SEO because the search engine will tackle each URL as a different page. This can include 301 redirects and Rel=Canonical links.

For instance, search engines do not accept reproduced content and this can result in a low ranking for your website. However, it is difficult to avoid reproduced content, especially where different web pages display an identical product but with a different size or color. In such cases, you require a canonical tag to show which page should be considered as the original. You may also use a 301 redirect so that SEO is not split into several sites but aimed at one page. Make sure that your CMS can customize this tag on a per page level.

3. ALT-attribute, Title-tag, and Meta-description

Be sure to use a title tag. A tag is a short and concise sentence that outlines your online space. A title tag shows what your domain is about. It is usually displayed in places like social media, external pages, browsers and SERPs. Simon Miller, SEO consultant at A+ Digital, advises that ALT-attributes title-tags and meta-descriptions should be original, short and appealing enough to draw your targeted audience's attention.  Present your site in a captivating manner and speak their language.

Just like Google, search engine read the ALT text and cannot read images. You must use an ALT text to assist the search engines understand what an image represents. Keyword phrases can be used to explain the images on the website.

For example, if keywords surrounding the images are bold, this helps the search engine crawlers know that that section is important to readers. Whichever CMS you utilize, you will have the chance to use the right keywords for each image you upload.

4. Keywords

Keywords are the basis for SEO. You must determine what users type when they search for sites similar to yours. The Google keyword planner is a great example of a tool that you can use to perform a keyword research.  This is a free tool accessible to  anyone with a free Google AdWords account. Once you set up an account, you will be required to provide your site's information before your receive a list of keywords. You must select keywords with a high monthly search which are popular amongst users.

5.  Automatic URL

Most search engine treats each page of a website as a separate page. This remains so even when the data for the page is not physically present on the server. SEO firms use the same approach for websites and do not know that if you modify one page on a CMS driven website it may affect all other pages on the website that utilize that template. It is advisable to consider how any changes to a template may affect the entire website.

In addition, it is crucial to have an automatic URL strategy before publishing content in large amounts.  This will ensure that a webpage URL is automatically created when you publish a new page.