There are three main tiers to search engine optimization: the internal, the external, and the all-too-important website content itself. While the internal and external factors have everything to do with server issues and link popularity plus, the content portion of a website is a large piece of the SEO pie. To add to the mix, all too often this important content needs to be placed into the hands of end users within the company, and therefore they must opt for a system to keep their website up to date. This article addresses this content management system dilemma from an SEO point of view.

I was originally contacted by a community college that needed a solution that would allow their different departments to update their website via web-based methods. More importantly, it must be SIMPLE TO USE as most of these updaters or users had very little knowledge of computers. Many had little or no experience with Microsoft Word, so simplicity was a MUST.

The second dilemma was a little harder. Knowing that I was an SEO specialist, they needed me to either design or find a Content Management System that would allow their site to be SEO compliant. It was important that their current and potential students be able to find their site using search engines, both quickly and easily.

Prior to the start of this project, they had someone in-house do a little bit of research. The Savvy software was recommended as a solution to the end user problem, but they needed me to review the software for search engine compliancy. I took one afternoon and spent some time on the phone with the company, asking detailed questions about the software and how its built.

I found that this company had done their SEO homework prior to building this software. They did a remarkable job handling the often overlooked, yet extremely important SEO compliancy issues. They addressed many issues that most CMSs do not.

Savvy is software you can install on your own web server or host.

Owning the software allows you to choose your own web host one that is not listed on a spam list. If your site is hosted on a computer that also hosts known spammers, your website is often also penalized for spam since it resolves near the same IP address of the spammer. With the ability to install the software on the host of your choice, you have the option to choose a clean server. In addition, if you are required to use the host of the software, your domain name is being pointed, or redirected to your site. However, if the redirect is not programmed a particular way, it can be considered a type of spam for which Google penalizes. Make sure you have control over your software and your web host server.

Page names are SEO compatible.

Search engines frown upon urls such as www.reneescomputerhelp.com/page.asp?ID=23451fjdlks34565. Savvy creates pages with names like this: www.reneescomputerhelp.com/seo/index.cfm which is completely search engine friendly and avoids complicated parameters that search engines tend to avoid or deny spidering altogether.

Templates can be built with SEO in mind, so that every page created using these templates is search engine friendly.

By strategic use of CSS or tables (if one must), the layout of the template code can become search engine optimized meaning any page created with this SEO Template is also search engine compliant. For example:

One of Googles 106+ algorithmic variables is the analyzation of the first 200 words of the body. Many times web developers unwittingly design the site so that other things, like navigation for instance, precedes the body copy, and therefore it is considered by Google to be the first 200 words of the content. If this occurs over several pages within the website, it begins to look to Google like every page is the same since the first 200 words of every page are the same.

Savvy gives the webmaster power to design SEO Templates. The next step is to teach the end user to adequately write the content to be search engine optimized. During Savvy end user training, I usually include a 30 minute session on the requirements needed for their content to be likable by the Google mathematical algorithm. There are several simple steps that an end user can usually follow without complication of any sort. Its also made easier in that the WYSIWYG editor in Savvy compliments the need for these steps by utilizing well-thought-out editing tools.

Savvys editing tools make it easy to teach end users not only to update their pages, but how to make them search engine compliant, and in some cases, even search engine optimized.

Headings, bold type, alternative text for images and more, all play an important role in search engine compliancy. With Savvys editing tools in the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor, a 30 minute session on search engine optimization can teach the end user how to appropriately apply these features within their text to make their pages at least search engine compliant and at other times optimized. Remember, compliant means that search engines will eat it, but optimized mean its the search engines favorite food.

Savvy gives you power over your meta data.

The most important meta tag in a web page is its Title tag. When creating a new page, Savvy gives you the opportunity to write not only the Title tag, but the Description and Keywords as well. The User Manager in Savvy controls the rights given to end users as to whether they are allowed to edit the meta data or not. It would be best that only those trained in SEO write the meta data. Remember one thing though: Content on your page is KING and always will be, but the next most important is the pages Title Tag. Most other CMSs assign page titles for you and leave you with no control over this important SEO issue.

Savvys navigational features render text links.

Anchor text is an important factor in search engine optimization. Anchor text, the text used in a link to a particular page, is not only relevant from external links, but also from within your site. Structuring your site so that your key phrases are used in anchor texts to point to your most important landing pages is one of the keys of good SEO navigation. Savvys navigation, using CSS (cascading style sheets) to control the look and feel, renders text links that are easily spidered by search engines and gives the end user power to control the anchor text and therefore, the overall structure of the site for search engine optimization.

After careful review of Savvy, I determined that it was an excellent solution to resolve the need for a content management system as well as the need for SEO compliancy / optimization. Ive used Savvy now for several web clients and all clients can be found on Google easily by typing a portion of their company name. You may even find the specific pages for a department if you type the company name and its department. Too often a website cant be found for even its company name, but Savvy has set up their CMS to win in the area of SEO; even if youre looking to optimize your site for keywords and phrases other than your company name. Savvy allows for well-developed sites that Google can spider and give their searchers the relevant results they need from you. Savvy makes both the client and Google happy.