SEO: Search Engine Optimization Bible

When you begin to look for the right CMS, the first thing you should do is consider what budget you

have for the system. Your budget will narrow your field some. Then you can begin considering dif-

ferent factors about each company that will help you narrow the field even more:

 Look first at the history of the company.Companies that are new to the market are

risky, especially if they are drastically different from existing companies. The length of

time that a company has been in business is a good indicator of its strength. This is not

foolproof, but you can generally have more trust in companies that have been in busi-

ness longer.

 Look at workflow and collaboration features.You know what you need to accomplish

with a content management system. Whether it is plugging in content from vendors out-

side your company, or allowing for collaboration within your organization, make sure that

the services that you are considering can meet all of your needs now and as your organiza-

tion grows. It’s difficult to migrate from one content management system to another, so

think long-term as you’re making your decision.

 Consider how the software will integratewith your organization. Do you need software

that you install and manage from your own machines or will a web-based program serve

your needs better? Also, how will the system you choose work with the technology that

you already have in place? If you have to invest in additional technology to support the

CMS, the actual cost of the system will be higher than originally thought.

 Consider elements of personalization, too.How much personalization do you need?

Will multiple people need different capabilities? And what about dealing with archived

content? Personalization reaches to more than just defining how many users will use the

CMS for different jobs. It also means looking deeper into all the situations in which a dif-

ferent element of CMS may be needed.

As with any technology, there are many other factors to consider. But these questions will get you

started. Then, as you narrow the field you can request references from organizations that currently

use the CMS software you’re considering. Remember, though, that a vendor isn’t going to supply a

customer reference that will speak badly of them, so also check Internet forums and software reviews

to round out your picture of the company that you’re considering. A great resource to compare CMS

software is http://www.cmsmatrix.org/.

How CMS affects SEO

One real concern many web-site designers have is how a content management system will affect

their SEO efforts. In the past, CMS applications often published content with long, complex URLs

or created multiple copies, which search engine crawlers were likely to look down on. Today, how-

ever, CMS applications are much more SEO-friendly.

SEO has become a large part of owning any kind of web site. Even individuals now consider how

they’re going to get their sites to rank well in search engines, and small or even micro-businesses

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Part II SEO Strategies

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