Knowledge page
10 SEO settings you should check in your CMS
Good content is an important part of SEO. But for search engines to be able to find, understand, and display your content, the technical requirements must also be in place. Here, we’ll discuss SEO settings worth checking in your CMS platform.
Good SEO starts with the website’s CMS
SEO isn’t just about which keywords you use or what you write on a page. How the website is structured and how your CMS handles the content also affects search engines’ ability to find and understand it.
Page titles, indexing, URLs, redirects, and structured data are a few examples. It may sound technical, but as an editor, you really shouldn’t have to worry too much about most of it. A good CMS should make it easy to do things right, reduce the risk of mistakes, and help you keep track of the aspects of SEO that you can influence.
1. Page Title and Title Tag
The page title is one of the most important indicators of what a page is about. However, the headline that visitors see on the page itself and the title that may appear in search results aren’t always exactly the same.
That’s why it’s a good idea to check that your CMS allows you to customize the page’s title tag. It should clearly describe the content and help searchers understand what to expect from the page.
Does your CMS allow you to easily customize the title tag for an individual page without having to change the page’s name or main heading?
2. Meta Description
The meta description is the short description that search engines may choose to display below the page title in search results. It is not a direct ranking factor, but a clear and relevant description can help users understand what the page contains and whether it answers their query.
That’s why it’s important to be able to easily and effortlessly write a unique meta description for each page.
3. Heading Structure
Headings help visitors scan and understand the content. A clear heading structure also helps search engines interpret how different parts of the page are related.
The main heading should describe the page’s primary topic, while subheadings break the content down into logical sections. Here, the structure of the content should determine which heading level you use.
Does your CMS make it easy to use the right heading level and understand how the headings on the page are related?
4. Indexing
Not all pages need to appear in search results. For example, there may be pages that serve a purpose on the website but aren’t relevant to someone searching via Google, for instance.
That’s why you need to control which pages are allowed to be indexed. It’s just as important to ensure that important pages aren’t accidentally blocked from indexing. A modern CMS should make it easy to control which pages can be indexed, and also clearly indicate when a page is set to not appear in search results.
5. Canonical Tags
Sometimes, the same or very similar content can be found at several different URLs. This can make it difficult for search engines to determine which version is the primary one.
A canonical tag helps by specifying which URL should be considered the original version. This reduces the risk of multiple versions of the same content competing with each other or being interpreted as separate pages. Therefore, it’s a good idea to review how your CMS handles canonical tags. Are they automatically added where needed, and do you have the ability to adjust them when the situation calls for it?
6. URL Structure
A good URL should ideally be understandable to both people and search engines. It doesn’t need to include every keyword you can think of, but it should be clear, logical, and preferably sustainable over time.
It’s also important to consider what happens when the content changes. If a page is moved or renamed, you don’t want to create unnecessary broken links or lose the history that the old URL has built up. Therefore, review how your CMS handles URLs and what happens to the old address when a page is moved or given a new URL.
7. Redirects and Broken Links
Websites change. Pages are removed, content is moved, and old campaigns disappear. But links to the old addresses may still remain, both on your own website and on other websites.
A redirect can help both visitors and search engines find the correct content. That’s why it’s important for your CMS to make it easy to manage redirects and detect links that no longer work.
What happens when a page is deleted or moved? Can you easily create redirects and find broken links?
8. Sitemap and robots.txt
Two terms that sound much more complicated than the basic concept actually is.
An XML sitemap works much like a table of contents for search engines. It helps them discover URLs on the website and understand what content is available.
The robots.txt file, on the other hand, is used to control which parts of the website search engine bots are allowed to crawl. However, this is not the same as preventing a page from being indexed—that is handled in other ways.
As an editor, you usually won’t need to work with these files manually. However, it’s good to know how your CMS handles them. Is your sitemap created and updated automatically? And do you have control over which parts of the website search engines are allowed to crawl?
9. Images and Alt Text
Alt text is first and foremost an accessibility issue. A relevant image must be understandable even to those who cannot view it visually, such as a person using a screen reader.
A good alt text therefore describes the image’s relevant content or function in context. At the same time, it can provide search engines with additional information about the image and the page on which it appears. However, avoid using the alt text as a place to stuff in keywords. Write for people first (!).
A good CMS should help the editor add alt text where needed and make it easy to handle decorative images correctly.
10. Structured Data
People are pretty good at understanding context. If we see a name, a date, a location, and information about tickets, we can quickly understand that the page is about an event. Search engines sometimes need a little more help.
With structured data, information can be marked up in a standardized and machine-readable way. For example, it can clarify that the content is an article, an event, or a person. Properly structured data can help search engines understand the content and, in some cases, make the page eligible for more advanced displays in search results.
This doesn’t mean that every editor needs to be able to write structured data themselves. On the contrary, this is a good example of something that the platform and the website’s implementation can help manage behind the scenes. Therefore, review what support your CMS offers for structured data and whether it covers the types of content you publish.
SEO Shouldn't Depend on Individual Editors
There’s a lot an editor can do to improve a page’s SEO. But good SEO can’t rely on every person who publishes content also being an expert in technical SEO.
The organization needs to create the right conditions from the start. That’s why the CMS platform plays a crucial role. It should make the right things easy, help prevent common mistakes, and handle the details that editors shouldn’t have to worry about.
Because when technology handles the work behind the scenes, you, as an editor, can spend more time on what people actually come to the website for—finding, understanding, and using good content.