SEO Tools

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your site to increase visibility when people search for products or services related to your business in Google, Bing, and other search engines.

The better visibility your pages have in search results, the more likely you are to get attention and attract visitors to your site.

The SEO tools built-in to Saffire are available on all dynamic, event and business pages. You'll find them in the blue TOOLS panel on the right side of the page ... click on SETTINGS.

The layout of the window which opens will differ depending on the type of page you're editing, but all of them will include the following SEO tools.

SEO Title

This is the title of the page as it will appear in search results. It also is the text which appears in the browser tab when visiting the page. Titles are best if they are concise and to the point.

SEO Description

(aka Meta Description) This provides a brief summary of a web page and is displayed on a search engine results page. Google typically limits the viewable text to roughly 155 characters. So keep your descriptions short & sweet! We recommend using the words from the title within the description.

SEO Keywords

This is an ever-evolving topic for discussion. Some search experts say keywords aren't important anymore - others say they're more vital than ever! Google makes up over 80% of the search traffic on the Internet and they've changed their search algorithms as often as you change your... well, you know. So what's the best way to keep up? Adding keywords, of course! There are countless websites and tools available to help you determine the types of words to use on your site, but here are some basic guidelines:

• Make your keywords relevant to the specific page

  - is this page about parking, tickets, concessions - or what?

• Select specific keywords to target specific customers

  - if you're a venue with live entertainment, specify the types: music, comedy, dance, etc.

• Think like a customer when you create your list

  - customers might simply be searching for 'entertainment'  or 'shows'

• Select general keywords to reach more people

  - whether you're a fair, theater, arena, stadium, etc., be sure to include that word in your list

Homepage SEO

Spark location:

Tools > Site Settings > Site Info

These are the same tools used on all other pages, but this one applies only to your homepage.

Page URL

Saffire will auto-assign the URL based on the page title. Dependent on whether you have spaces or special characters in the title, the URL can get rather long and clunky. But you can modify the tail-end of the page address - look for 'Page URL' or 'Friendly URL' in the Settings window.

Redirects

Spark location: Tools > Site Settings > Redirects

Huh? What does this have to do with SEO? It's all about helping people find what they're looking for. Redirects are used to send site visitors to a page different than the URL they initially clicked on. It's not a 'bait & switch' scenario... there are legitimate reasons to do this! Redirects are especially useful when moving your site to Saffire. Seldom will the new URLs be the same as they were on your old site - but by adding redirects, you ensure your visitors will get to the page they're expecting. Ask your Client Experience Manager for more details as you prepare to launch your new site.

Another example is if you combine two pages of information into one page, the URL of the page you're abandoning can be redirected to the page with the combined content. Or if you have an event which has ended and you want to deactivate or remove the content, you might want to redirect the URL to the main page of your event calendar or homepage.

Open a new tab with more details about redirects