Focusing on Drupal SEO ensures the hard work you put into your site helps you actually reach customers. Like other platforms, Drupal has specific SEO features and strategies that ensure your changes are communicated from Drupal to search engines.
Whether you are using your Drupal website for e-commerce or building a content-driven brand, such as a membership site, Drupal SEO will help your customers find you as they search for answers online.
Being there, with the answers and resources they need, you’ll be able to build your brand following, grow sales or conversions, and hit your brand goals.
What Is Drupal?
Drupal is a CMS, or content management system. Formally, this is the software you use to create, organize, display, and interact with digital content. For everyday use, a CMS is a platform you’ve chosen to build your website on.
With a history of reliability, Drupal generally requires more technical knowledge and allows for far more customization than the plug and play options like Wix or Squarespace.
Like WordPress, you code certain items to create a website that looks and functions the way you need.
Pros and Cons of Drupal
Although Drupal is not the most popular website platform (that market share tends to be dominated by WordPress), it is used by a number of popular websites, such as Pinterest and DocuSign, that host a lot of users per day with very custom experiences, according to W3Techs.
Because it can be so well-customized, Drupal also requires a fair amount of tech expertise. You should have some knowledge of coding and basic CMS tools before you dive in.
Drupal is not a plug-and-play website CMS where you can merely choose a template and just type in the content you need throughout the website.
However, you can create the exact site you need using open-source information and tapping into the Drupal community.
Whether you are using your Drupal website for e-commerce or building a content-driven brand, such as a membership site, Drupal SEO will help your customers find you as they search for answers online.
What Kinds of Websites Should Use Drupal?
Drupal is a workhorse platform that hosts websites that need a lot of heavy lifting. As mentioned above, websites like Pinterest and DocuSign use Drupal.
What do those websites, and other Drupal sites, have in common?
They host a LOT of digital data.
They need their data to be easily searched and organized, both on a large scale and by individual users.
They have members, with varying degrees of activity.
They have a lot of users either logging in to interact or stopping by their website daily.
They require unique functionality and features to reflect their brands.
They need to stay up and running, so members can access their data.
They need to be secure and respect privacy concerns.
This list should give you a picture of what makes Drupal very popular for some kinds of websites.
Drupal does the grunt work of supporting very large and very complicated websites, with iron-tight security and a reputation for reliability.
How do you make sure all those customers can find your Drupal website? Here’s how to do SEO on Drupal.
10 Best Practices for Drupal SEO
If you’ve invested in building a custom website, you want customers to find you on search engines. Drupal SEO is all about taking the steps to ensure your content can be crawled and seen by search engines and users alike.
1. Optimize Your URLs
Your URL is important for SEO. URLs with specific words that reflect the actual content of that page rank higher.
For Drupal SEO, you’ll have to go into your website settings and “enable clean URLs.” This will allow you to change URLs to reflect the individual page content, rather than a URL with randomized numbers and letters.
You can use a URL similar to the title of the page so the URL is more contextual. I strongly recommend including the main key term the page targets in your URL.
It takes too long for a search engine to crawl a slow-moving website, and search engines don’t want to serve up a slow website to their audience. They are in the business of connecting users with websites they are glad to find.
When they are served up a fast-loading website, they are more pleased with the experience.
You can also use Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze how well your site is doing. Here’s an example of what it shows for Home Depot, who uses Drupal.
3. Keep Your Website Secure
Search engines prioritize safety and privacy on the internet, so they give preference to secure websites.
If you’re not sure whether your Drupal website, or any website, is secure, you can look at the URL in your browser. The little “lock” icon and the “s” in https will tell you if a site is secure.
To secure your Drupal website, you can work with your hosting site. Note, that you may need to make certain URL updates if you are using Apache. See this Drupal documentation for that information.
4. Create Mobile Responsive Website
Search engines like Google prioritize mobile-friendly websites because so many searches are happening on mobile devices. Again, this goes back to wanting their customers to have the best experience.
One of the best ways to make sure your Drupal website is mobile-friendly is to make it responsive. Do images, text, and layout of your website morph depending on the size of your browser? Or is it a single static view no matter the size?
Improve your Drupal SEO by ensuring people can effectively access your content on whatever device they are using.
5. Use a Mobile-First Mentality
Drupal SEO for mobile doesn’t just mean responsive design. It’s also about creating content that is optimized for small devices and on-the-go access. This is a mobile-first design mindset, and it can shape your decisions as you create content and build your website.
A few things to keep in mind include:
Use headings, bullet points, lists, and images to make content easier to scan.
Create “stacked” designs, rather than side-by-side. In other words, think vertical instead of horizontal.
Avoid adding too many popups that can disrupt the mobile experience.
Thinking about how your website looks on mobile can improve your SEO.
6. Ensure Website Accessibility
Another topic to explore with Drupal SEO is accessibility. Google and other websites weigh the accessibility features of a website when ranking websites in search results. They give priority to websites that check all the accessibility boxes, and deprioritize ones that lack compliance.
Accessibility is about how accessible your website is to people across a spectrum of experiences, abilities, and perspectives. This can include visual limitations, device and technology limitations, and more.
Websites that are more accessible can be accessed by a wide range of people. In essence, the more people who can access your website the better, and search engine websites reward you for that. It’s also just the right thing to do.
There are several Drupal tools you can use to assess how well your website is doing and identify the areas for improvement. Then you can go about making those changes.
7. Know Your Target Audience and What They’re Looking For
In addition to the technical specs we discussed, you also need to be aware of the content you create for your website. In particular, you need to clearly understand who you are trying to draw from those search engines.
Drupal SEO should focus on what your target is searching for and building great, long-form content around those topics. Because Drupal is known for the ability to host and support great amounts of data, this is your opportunity to be the storehouse of information on your particular topic.
However, you want to make sure you are actually creating content that drives the right target audience to your site so you have a better shot at turning them into customers.
8. Keyword Research
Incorporating relevant keywords into content and page copy allows you to draw your audience into your website and provide the information they need.
To ensure you are using the right keywords and phrases, you need to perform keyword research. While your intuition is a starting point, diving into what people actually search and the phrases they use can help your website appear higher in relevant searches.
You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to build your keyword lists.
9. Use Keywords Naturally
Once you get a handle on the keywords that your target market is using, and what they are looking for, you can start to create content that draws them to your website.
This isn’t about trying to hack the system. The websites that optimize best are simply the websites that serve up content people care about on a regular website.
Once you’ve found your keywords, you need to incorporate them in natural and helpful ways. Sprinkling them throughout your content, using them in headlines, placing them in relevant URLs, and tucking them into page descriptions.
10. Find Drupal SEO Modules
With open-source coding, Drupal boasts a plethora of Drupal modules that people have created to serve the needs of Drupal users. Modules are software codes that others have made and tested, and are still improving, that you can try out too.
If you go to Drupal Modules, you can search for SEO ones in particular.
Here, you’ll find modules to add all sorts of SEO features, including meta tags, sitemaps, share buttons, and bread crumbs. These are one of the easiest ways to improve your Drupal SEO.
Drupal SEO Frequently Asked Questions
Is Drupal Good for SEO?
Drupal provides a robust platform that can be home to great SEO-friendly content and strategies. You can build an SEO-effective website on Drupal.
Is It Free to Optimize Drupal for SEO?
Optimizing for search engines, or SEO, consists of a series of best practices that help your Drupal site rank higher. These practices are free to do, but may require time investment.
Is Drupal "Dying?"
No, Drupal continues to be a popular platform for building websites. It is used by several big names including eBay, The Economist, and NCAA.
Is Drupal Hard to Use?
It is not beginner friendly. Drupal is very adaptable using basic coding techniques, and can be further customized with advanced technical knowledge. With open-source coding and an active community, Drupal users can find support and insights for building their sites.
What's the Difference Between Drupal and WordPress?
Although WordPress boasts a larger share of the website market, Drupal has a history of reliability, security, and robustness. They are home to many big-name websites who require their membership level customization, data hosting prowess, and more.
Drupal provides a robust platform that can be home to great SEO-friendly content and strategies. You can build an SEO-effective website on Drupal.
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Drupal SEO: Conclusion
Drupal SEO comes down to using the tools available, along with basic SEO practices, to showcase your content and get in front of the right audience.
Start by implementing standard SEO best practices, like making sure you have HTTPS, checking site speed, and optimizing your URLs. Then, move on to Drupal SEO modules for more advanced features.
By taking the time to set your Drupal site up for success and build quality content that people want to consume, you can make the most of one of the most powerful platforms on the Internet.
Do you use Drupal? What are your favorite SEO modules?
Refinancing your mortgage can be a great way to save money or get more favorable terms on your home loan. This is especially true if interest rates are low and your home value has increased since you bought your home. But what if your credit score is standing in the way of refinancing? When you…
Having good social media profiles can get you more exposure online, help you connect with your fans or customers, and improve your online reputation.
Unless you have a major site associated with your name (like NeilPatel.com), your social media profiles are usually the first results Google shows when someone searches for you.
Start thinking of each social media profile you create as a landing page for your personal brand.
Your social media profiles are possibly the first encounter that someone is going to have with your brand, and you want that first impression to make the visitor interested in knowing more about you.
Here are 10 elements of successful social media profiles.
Element #1: Your Social Media Profile Display Name
Okay, this seems fairly basic. The name that displays on your social media profile should just be your own name, right?
Usually, that’s correct. However, sometimes that doesn’t make the most sense.
On platforms like Twitter, where you don’t have to use a real name, a pseudonym might make more sense.
Element #2: Your Social Media Username and URL
On most social networks, your username is included in your URL, and it’s often different from your display name. Usually, you can’t change your username, so choose it carefully.
If possible, it’s usually best to just go with your own name. Sometimes, if you’re the face of your company, the company name might work better.
On Twitter, Brian Dean isn’t @briandean but @Backlinko, since that’s the name of his company.
It can be confusing when this isn’t the case, like Instagram being @yourname and Twitter being @yourcompany or @yourmiddlename.
Element #3: Your Social Media Profile Picture
Should you go with a logo or a personal picture?
Of course, if it’s for a personal account, you should almost always go with a headshot.
What about for a company? It’s a tough call, but it really depends on your goals. If you run a smaller operation or are the face of your company, include a headshot of you.
That’s what Brian does on Twitter, even with his company usernames. This also applies to people that are brands themselves, like musicians, artists, or politicians.
If you have a more recognizable brand or don’t want your company to be associated with you specifically, go with the logo.
It’s also a good idea to stick with the same (or at least a similar) photo across different social networks. That way you’re easier to recognize on different platforms.
Element #4: Your Social Media Profile Link
This varies from one social media network to the next, but be sure to seek out any opportunity to get your link on the main page of your social profile.
For example, you can add a link on the “front page” of your profiles on Twitter and LinkedIn.
You can use these pages to offer a special discount for people who have found you on Twitter or share information that is specific to a network, like recent blog posts you have written about Facebook.
Element #5: Your Social Media Profile Bio
Your main social profile bio should usually include a sentence or two about yourself or your business. Think of it as a perfect place to put your elevator pitch and include keywords.
If you’re on a platform like LinkedIn, your “about” section can have up to 2,000 characters. This is a huge opportunity to explain what you’re all about and make a great first impression.
To make this succeed, you’ll want to add more than just a simple description of what you’ve done and your current projects. Instead, create a story with a basic call to action.
For example, you can tell how you started with the industry you’re working in. What got you interested in it, and what makes you stick around and keep learning?
Finally, you can finish your bio with a simple call to action. This can be a link to a free report, an offer for someone to call you, or even a mission statement asking “will you join me?”
Element #6: Your Social Media Profile Interests
Some profiles allow you to have additional extended information about yourself in the form of favorite books, television shows, movies, and so on.
A lot of people skip over this, especially when it comes to business profiles, but that is a big mistake.
Look at these fields as an additional place to get some great value and connections
I doubt there is a niche out there that doesn’t have at least one or two published books.
Find books, documentaries, and profiles of influential people in your industry and add those in these additional fields (assuming you actually enjoy them, of course!)
This adds credibility and a new level of connection you can build with people who are learning about you for the first time.
Element #7: Your Social Media Profile Background or Cover Image
Different platforms have different requirements, but most social networks today have some way to add a larger image behind your main profile page.
Some users, especially on Twitter and LinkedIn, choose to use the default background image, but this is a mistake.
A customized background will allow you to share additional information and give personality to you or your brand.
Don’t make it distracting or more important than your profile picture, but a great cover image can go a long way to personalizing your social page.
On some platforms, like Facebook, this can even be a video. If you have the option (and decent video), this can be even an even more engaging way to connect with others.
Element #8: Your Social Media Profile Privacy Settings
After you have all of your profile filled out and pictures uploaded, the next thing that you will need to take a look at is your privacy settings.
These vary from network to network, but you will want to make sure that the information you would like to be public is viewable.
Chances are, if this is a business-related profile, you’ll want almost everything to be public. Of course, if your profile is more personal nature, you may want to hide some things.
Element #9: Your Social Media Activity
Once your profile setup is complete, your on-going mission will be to maintain a healthy level of activity on your main social networks.
It’s not enough to leave a profile blank. You need to contribute to the platform and build connections. After all, that’s what they’re there for in the first place.
No matter what social network you’re on, the basic guidelines still apply. You’ll want to connect with friends and followers by asking questions and responding to comments.
Provide value by posting interesting ideas, or at least sharing interesting and relevant things you find.
If you’re in any groups, become an active participant. Be helpful, connect with others in the group, and share things the group will find interesting.
Element #10: Your Social Media Promotion
Finally, there is nothing like a little healthy promotion of your social network profiles to help more people find and connect with you.
Be sure to add your social networking profile links to your website, email signature, and business card.
Also, don’t forget to interlink your profiles to each other. Many networks have places to include links to other networks, and you can and should use them whenever possible.
Stay connected, become an active member on the social network of your choice, and you’ll start acquiring a following.
Social Media Profile FAQs
What should my profile picture be?
This depends on what you do. If you have a personal profile or your brand centers around who you are, use a headshot. If you have a business where you aren’t the face, your logo will work well.
What should I do if my preferred username is taken on another platform?
Using the same name is ideal but not always possible. If your username is taken on another platform, then use something very similar.
What should I put in my social media bio?
Your social media bio should have everything people need to know about your brand. Let them know what makes your brand stand out, what you do, and a call to action whenever possible.
How can I do to personalize my social media profiles?
You can brand your social media profile by using a custom cover image with your brand colors and logo. You can also put important information in your cover image. On some platforms, you can also add your interests. This is a great way to add a personal touch.
What can I do to promote my social media profiles?
You can cross-promote your social media profile with each other, by adding all of your links to each profile. You can also all links to your website, and email campaigns.
Social Media Profiles Conclusion
If you’re getting started with social media marketing, the first step is to set up your accounts and profiles correctly.
If you’ve already been in the game for a while, it’s probably time to take a look at the profiles you set up.
Are there ways to improve what you already have online? Is the profile picture you uploaded last year still relevant? Does your bio or link need updating?
Since it’ll be the first impression many people see, it’s worth spending some time to improve your social media presence and make it compelling and interesting.
What strategies have you used to improve your social media profile?
Do you dream of starting your own small business but have no clue how to finance it? The number one thing that stands in the way of those who want to start a business, assuming they already have an idea of the type of business they want to start, is that they have no money. A general rule of life is it takes money to make money. While in a way this is true, it’s not always as cut and dry as it seems. Find out how to start a small business with no money.
No Money? No Problem! Try These Tried and True Tips for How to Start a Business with No Money
Ok, so let’s be real. It actually does take money to start a business. However, it doesn’t have to be money you already have. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be your money at all! Here are some creative ideas for how to start a small business with no money, or rather, how to get the money you need to make your small business dreams come true.
So, you do need money to start and grow a business, and we are going to show you how to get it. Yet, you don’t have to wait to start. Start your business now, and grow it from the ground up.
1. Start Small
Facebook was started by college roommates in their dorm room, Microsoft was birthed in a garage by a college drop out, and Hewlett- Packard got started with less than $600. These are just a few of the many major companies that started out very small and with little capital. After all, how many people actually remember that Amazon used to be an online bookstore?
Starting small is essential, especially if you are wondering how to start a small business with no money. Cut out as much overhead as you can and focus on getting your product to the customers.
2. Keep Your Day Job…For Now
It will be a challenge for sure, but working your business outside of your regular working hours, while keeping your current job if you have one, will allow you to put any profit from your business back into your business. In essence, your business will be funding itself.
3. Keep Early Marketing Simple
In the early stages, simple is best. Offer free samples, leverage word of mouth, and start a Facebook page. As you build funds, you can increase your marketing strategy as well.
Be strategice as well. There is no need to market to the masses initially. Keep it narrowed down to the market that you know will be interested.
How to Start a Small Business With No Money: Leverage Your Assets
Now, you do need to figure out how to get the funding you need. If you have no money, you may struggle to get a small business loan. As you are starting small and building revenue, consider what assets you can leverage to get the cash you need.
There is always the option to use your home or land as collateral for a loan. Pretty much any bank will do that. Yet, that understandably makes many uncomfortable. There are some better options.
401K Financing
401K financing is a flexible and powerful way to leverage assets that are in a 401(k) plan or IRA. In as little as 3 weeks you can actually invest a portion of these funds into your own business. Then, you not only have more control over the performance of your retirement plan assets, but you also have the working capital you need.
This type of program even has the blessing of the IRS. In fact, they have their own term for it. It’s called a Rollover for Business Startups (ROBS).
You do not have to submit financials or have good credit to get approval. In fact, all the lender will ask for is a copy of your two most recent 401(k) statements.
If the plan has a value of more than $35,000, you can get approval. This is true even if you have bad personal credit. You can get however much of your 401(k) is “rollable.”
The plan you use cannot be from a business where you currently work. It will have to be from previous employment. Also, you can’t still be contributing to it.
Equipment Financing
This is a great option if you need equipment for your business and have no money to purchase it. Equipment financing allows you to purchase or borrow hard assets for your business using said asset as security for the loan. You can use it to buy or lease any physical asset. This can include items like an industrial freezer in a restaurant or an oven or a company car. You name it.
How to Start a Small Business With No Money: Use a Guarantor
What if you have no money and no assets? What then? You still have options. The easiest way to get funding for a business if you can’t do it on your own is to use a guarantor. Many entrepreneurs have friends or family that will sign a loan with them. Doing so tells the lender that, if you default, your guarantor will be responsible for the payments.
This is a better option for many, because the guarantor isn’t out any money up front, and they only have to pay if you do not. Keep reading for one of our favorite options for guarantor funding.
What if there were a way to fund your business with 0% interest? The Credit Line Hybrid allows you to fund your business without putting up collateral, and you only pay back what you use. Generally, you do need a personal credit score of 680 or above, and you can’t have any liens, judgments, bankruptcies or late payments. However, if you do not meet the requirements, you have the option to take on a credit partner, which is in essence a guarantor. And yes, you can often get 0% interest for up to 18 months!
The great part is, this program reports payment to your business credit profile, meaning you build your business credit score regardless of whether you have a guarantor or not.
How to Start a Small Business With No Money: Other Options
If you do not have assets, your personal credit is not great, and you can’t find a guarantor, all is not lost. Here are some other possibilities.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding allows you to access tons of investors at once, and test the market at the same time. You market your business on the platform, and anyone who wants to can invest in the company. Some platforms will even accept donations as low as $5 or $10 dollars, though most do require more. With rewards-based crowdfunding, you get a trinket of thanks for your donation. This may be anything from a thank you note to a free product. With equity-based crowdfunding, which almost always requires $500 or more, investors get a piece of the company. There are a ton of crowdfunding sites to choose from, you just have to pick the one that will work best for your business.
One unique program is Kiva. The money you get has to be repaid, but the loan is crowdfunded. The interest rate is 0%, so even though you do pay it back, it’s free money. You have to get at least five of your family and friends on board to donate to your business, and then you have to lend $25 to another company on the Kiva platform.
After that, submit a thorough business plan and you could be well on your way to a 0% interest loan.
Angel Investors
Now, an angel investor from an angel firm is going to want to know you have some money already, likely. But you don’t need to go through an angel firm, because anyone can be an angel investor. That includes friends and family, even your mom! So, this is definitely an option if needed.
Is it Even Possible to Start a Small Business Without Money?
In the strictest terms, no. You have to have funds to start a business. However, there are ways to fund your business without having money in the first place. While knowing how to start a small business with no money is important, it is always important to understand how to set your business up to get the funding it needs into the future as well.
The key to that is to start building business fundability from the beginning. As you consider funding options for your small business startup, look for those that will help you build fundability. As you set up, set your business up in a way that will help it become more fundable. These things are best done at the beginning.
You can discover what funding options are available to you right now, and get a head start on fundability by speaking with one of our business credit experts. Try a free consultation now!
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