More SEO for templates

[Omar]

I was recently asked few times about how to optimize the templates even more. What you should be able to easily bend on your will is the domain main page, index, and the category pages, though is possible to do same for product pages too.

So you have 3 templates to edit: home.tpl, category.tpl and products.tpl

You will have to look in the section where already is a meta for keywords: (currently is same for all templates. )

Under that tag you can use meta description tag and it should look like

Now, you can do customization based on each template type, so here are the options you have:

For index



For categories



For products

Because individual products do not have own description, except the actual description used in site you can try some tricks

1. use same data as for index
2. try to use small part of products description as meta desc and the item tags as meta keywords. so it will be smth like:

{foreach name=tg from=$article.tags item=tag}
{$tag}{if !$smarty.foreach.tg.last}, {/if}
{/foreach}
{else}{$site.keywords}{/if}
">

/":"\n"|strip_tags|truncate:50}">
or
/":"\n"|strip_tags|}">


What that does, is for keywords tell ss to use item tags as keywords if exist, otherwise just use general site keywords. For description first tell to use the product description, after strip punctuation and html code if exist and only use first 50 characters whatever they are, or second, use same description as product title after also stripping punctuation and html code if exist.

You should try all that on some template you currently use, if get issues, like nothing show anymore, just remove code you added. I am not an smarty expert and i am not sure all that is correct, but it should be. If anyone has some comments or ideas, feel free to post.

[Crazeet]

There is now some really good information available around the forum but it is scattered so how can we go about putting it all in one place that is indexed and easy to find??

[Omar]

Well... not sure.. Maybe make a sticky thread where to post useful posts and threads? Other ideas?!

[Crazeet]

I think it should be a community project so you guys are left to develope SS. Maybe a group of volunteers to put together a pdf. As things are posted  around the forum it can be added to to a text file that is correlated and indexed and created into a pdf.

Or, a better option would be that you could set up a sub-domain in either halfagain or storestacker and install joomla and give the volunteer group, group permissions, to add articles that would be broken down into categories and sections, that way it is easy to find and search if necessary.

[Omar]

That would be ok.. if any volunteers .. an online source will be easier to keep updated then a pdf. What about some kind of wiki script instead of joomla? Wouldn't that be better?!

[Crazeet]

I'm happy to help out.

wiki or joomla I guess it just comes down to what people are comfortable using but in the end it does not matter what is used as long as it works.

[Omar]

i'm looking at wiki.. is more suitable for comunity driven content.. waiting for other sugestions and "votes" though. Won't make a pool, just post your ideas.

[royalmice]

HI Omar thanks for the info on the META SEO.

Using the clean template: on www.travel-e-store.com
I implemented the code, but i am having some trouble:
ON the index page (Home) :
The desription seems to come out like below when i look at the source

All other pages \ categories  are o.k, i cant figure out where to insert the desription, should it not be tagline ?

[Omar]

what you used for meta description in home.tpl ?

[royalmice]

what you used for meta description in home.tpl ?

Omar, how do i specify the desription in home.tpl.

If i go to admin \ homage, the only values there is  :
Show number of items
Only open items from this category :

Nothing else

Under preferences \ Visual values
 there is :
Site title
Tagline
Keywords
Top and botom content
ad unites

No Description, unless i am overlooking it.

This is the code in home.tpl

[Omar]

I think i made a mistake.

You can do somehting else. Fill the meta desctiption in Text unit 1 and then use for meta:

[royalmice]

Omar, thanks for the suggestion. i will use it as u suggested.
Is there any specific rule in the order it has to be in or does it not realy matter:

keyword
desription
title


I would image this makes more sense (to a human anyway)
Title
Desription
Keyword


Thanks for the help

[davey]

royalmice - cool site

Did you upload data to mysql and bypass the storestacker interface? Any tips on how you did that for people with databases of data would be great.

thanks.

[Omar]

If you mean for the meta order in the head, i don't think is an exact order, but they way you said makes sense is most used.

Omar, thanks for the suggestion. i will use it as u suggested.
Is there any specific rule in the order it has to be in or does it not realy matter:

keyword
desription
title


I would image this makes more sense (to a human anyway)
Title
Desription
Keyword


Thanks for the help

[royalmice]

royalmice - cool site

Did you upload data to mysql and bypass the storestacker interface? Any tips on how you did that for people with databases of data would be great.

thanks.

Davey -- (still need to get back to you on the travel site template)

What u mean great site, it is just straight forward clean template, and i imported the entite CB database. It was difficult in the beginning, It helps if you have a very powerfull dedicated server as in my case. Omar did some fine tuning and now the cb feed is working like a dream.

Right now i am busy tweaking this site, and will add the site maps, and the meta, so if you think it is cool now, check it tomorrow.

BTW -- forgive me for doing some nasty selling here, but if someone is in need of hosting on a powerfull dedicated server with no restrictions then PM -$5\ month \domain, or for unlimited everything PM me for reseller deal. I dont normally sell or offer hosting space on my server, so this is a one time offer for SS dudes only