It really is amazing how some Content Management Systems have been build with little or no regard for Search Engine Optimisation. Out of the box, there are CMS that do not allow customised page titles or alt tags on images. Some CMS like WordPress are good straight out of the box but can be made better with plugins like All-in-One SEO or by using the Thesis Theme.

So if you’re having a website built using a CMS, what should you make sure is provided. Here’s my checklist:

Essential:

• Customisable Page Title’s – The title should be completely configurable
• Meta-tags for each page – well, meta-description anyway
• H1 heading on each page – (still not standard in Joomla!)
• H2 headings for sub-headings
• Ability to add links within text content
• Ability to no-follow those links if required
• Ability to add alt-tags to images
• A structure that avoids duplicate content being shown on multiple URL’s within your site e.g. full length content items on category or tags pages

Would also like to see:

• Ability to generate and store accurate XML sitemaps for submission to Google Webmaster Tools etc
• Broken links are flagged on your dashboard
• Easy user-friendly URL’s implemented as standard

Anything else you’d like to see in a super SEO friendly CMS?

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