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What then is the problem with CMS content management when it comes to SEO? First off, not all content management systems are created equal. Some are designed with SEO in mind. However, the majority aren’t. Along with many other types of WYSIWYG HTML editors, CMS often generate poor, non-compliant – and non search engine friendly code.

In effect, these issues put unnecessary barriers between your site and the search engines – making it hard for them to read and rank your pages.

Coding for ranking:

One of the most crucial aspects of good SEO is using your website code to help search engines understand and categorise your site. Things such as title and header tags, URL descriptions and content positioning all help your site’s visibility.

Think of these markers as similar to the way that a librarian might categorise a book. If the librarian can’t easily find a book title, it makes the job more difficult. In extreme cases, the librarian might just throw the book on a miscellaneous pile.

Unfortunately, most CMS software creates awful code in terms of search engine optimisation. This is why it’s usually advisable to consider SEO at the design stage, instead of waiting to “add it in” after the website has gone live.

What do many CMS platforms lack?

Obviously, different CMS software has different pros and cons. However, here is a general list of common things that content management systems could add for improved SEO functionality:

- The ability to specify <title> tags for each page – without having to worry about other factors. Many content management systems automatically overwrite the title tag with the internal page name. Your title tag can be a very useful SEO element.

- Similarly, the ability to alter the URL of each page and create unique URL structures. For example, some CMS software creates automatic URLs that have no SEO benefits, whereas a URL written with search engines in mind will include relevant keywords. This is essential in both SEO and professional web site design.

- Changes to meta data on a page-by-page basis. Often, a CMS will only allow one set of meta data for the entire site, whereas good SEO uses targeted content for each page. Again, much like the library example used before, if all of your page descriptions are the same, then your site is telling the search engines that every page effectively contains the same content.

- Clean, error-free code. A lot of CMS software adds unnecessary tags to the HTML they generate. This often leads to code which is not W3C compliant (the benchmark for quality on the internet). Many also don’t make use of style sheets, leading to more complex and cluttered code on each web page. All of this makes your site less attractive to search engines who expect your site to be 100% standards compliant.

Merging great design with an understanding of development:

While having a content management system can be an excellent way to manage your site, the key is to consider SEO aspects from the outset. Although workarounds can be found to incorporate good SEO in many CMS platforms at a later stage, it can’t be guaranteed.

It’s worth working with a web design agency that has experience not just in design and layout, but in software development – and with an agency that has some idea of what to include for good SEO. For example, OBS-Group offer an XML solution that totally separates the content input from the styling and layout – ideal for search engine optimisation and a perfect fit for database driven websites or business sites of any kind.

About the Author

Oliver Pluckrose is the Head of Development for Online Business Solutions UK Limited (OBS Group) – a web design agency based in London. Formed in 1998, OBS Group’s ethos has always been to provide simple, end user-driven website design and e-commerce solutions for a sensible, fixed price.