SEO questions

[Peremr]

Hey Guys I have some questions about SEO Features in XenForo, ( we are planning to move our current VB4 Forum to another System and XF seems the best choice):

1. Meta Titles & descriptions could be Customized in XF?
2. Is there a Autolink replacement functionality in the core or we need to buy an add-on?
3. About Google Tag Manager with XF, is there any add-on to manage it or we could add it directly in the XF?
4. about 301 redirects... has XF an area admin to manage 301 redirects, or could you recommend some add-on to manage them?
5. Is there a xml Sitemap advanced generator ( ability to split xml files, custom areas to include in the sitemap, etc...)?
6. Is there a External link Manager ( to manage 'nofollow', permisions to add external links, etc..)?
7. Is there a canonical Rel option for the Threads?
8. About the URL structure:
   1. What is the max Pages per thread?
   2. Can we manage /folder/subfolders/ to simulate forum/ subareas/ (Vbulletin Current Structure)?

Many Thanks in Advance

PD: those questions were posted in a Previous Thread started with my Co-worker.

 

[M@rc]

1. You can customize them for the homepage. For threads, the titles are used and the top contents of the first post is used for the meta description. For forums, the description is used for the meta description and the title is used for the title tag.
2. There is a link proxy in the core.
3. You can insert the tag in a template.
4. You'll need to do it via htaccess if you use an Apache server.
5. The core has an xml sitemap for forums, threads, tags and users.
6. Links are generally nofollow. I think links from staff members do not have the rel nofollow attribute, but this can be changed with a code edit.
7. Yes (it's automatic).
8. (a) Not sure about that one. I just assumed it was unlimited.
8. (b) There is a route filter feature in the core. Not sure if that's what you want but it's worth checking out here.

 

[bryanb]

Great - thanks. This was most helpful. We've successfully imported our vb database into Xenforo - it's truly amazing. I wish I did this years ago. Now we need to roll up our sleeves and get this going.

 

[Mr Lucky]

Is there a canonical Rel option for the Threads?

Yes (it's automatic).

I'm not sure I understand this. Surely an option would mean you can you specify a real canonical link (as opposed to defaulting to itself).

I don't think you can do that.

 

[Olami]

Thanks for this, am rest assured that i wont have no issue concerning seo by migrating to Xenforo, it's like i can gathered all the knowledge needed via this forum.

 

[Peremr]

Hey Guys another question about the URL structure:
Our current Website has not /thread/ "subfolder", can we remove the /thread/ in XF2?, ( If not I guess is posible change the 'thread' Kw for another... right?)

 

[Mike]

It can't be removed, but there are tools that allow you to change the word.

 

[Mr Lucky]

( If not I guess is posible change the 'thread' Kw for another... right?)

But why? How does that help SEO?

 

[Peremr]

But why? How does that help SEO?

hey Mr Lucky, mainly for: Generating a shorter URL, giving more relevance to the Title Kw's in the URL.

 

[Peremr]

It can't be removed, but there are tools that allow you to change the word.

Mike could you recommend some tools to optimize/manage URL structure ??many thanks in advance

 

[Mike]

I was referring to the "route filters" system built into XF.

 

[Mr Lucky]

hey Mr Lucky, mainly for: Generating a shorter URL, giving more relevance to the Title Kw's in the URL.

Do you have any evidence that any search engines do this? I know that in the search results Google highlights search terms that are in the URL, but I can't see how the word "thread" would stop that happening. Theoretically if you replace it with another word then that word may be highlighted in the search results if it's a word that as entered as a search term, but t would be the same word across the whole site.

 

[Peremr]

Do you have any evidence that any search engines do this? I know that in the search results Google highlights search terms that are in the URL, but I can't see how the word "thread" would stop that happening. Theoretically if you replace it with another word then that word may be highlighted in the search results if it's a word that as entered as a search term, but t would be the same word across the whole site.

If you generate a Short URL with your main Keywords is a SEO factor ( of course a minimal part to take in count), but for me works better an URL like:' /community/seo-questions.132695/' than '/forums/community/thread/seo-questions.132695/' . On the other hand Xenforo has HTML 5 Microdata in Breadcrumb so it means the SERP's will show our Microdata breadcrumb instead of the URLs

 

[Mr Lucky]

If you generate a Short URL with your main Keywords is a SEO factor ( of course a minimal part to take in count), but for me works better an URL like:' /community/seo-questions.132695/' than '/forums/community/thread/seo-questions.132695/' . On the other hand Xenforo has HTML 5 Microdata in Breadcrumb so it means the SERP's will show our Microdata breadcrumb instead of the URLs

yes I realise the URL looks neater without the /thread/ I was just questioning whether it makes the slightest difference to search engines.

 

[cuongit]

can I ask how many words are enough for an best meta description?

 

[Mr Lucky]

I think Yoast SEO recommends between 120 and 156. However this is more for grabbing the attention and making your site clicked on once it is in the search results. I don't think it has any effect on whether it's listed highly in the research results.

Its also more about the quality of the content, is there a call to action? Think about if from the POV of the person searching, i.e. does it make your site enticing and yet still relevant to the search because you don't want it to be misleading and have people clicking on the link then immediately clicking back to the search results when they find it isn't what they want.

 

[Harvey]

It's surprising to me that there is not a basic SEO addon that allows you to address title tags and meta descriptions independent of on page titles (H1s) and forum descriptions. Nobody wants a 60 character forum title or a 155 character forum description. At least I don't, and I'm a pro SEO.

When we were with Nabble - a really terrible piece of free software - I asked for this and was granted my wish in a few days. A week later it was rolled out as part of the core.

If there is such a thing, I apologize and please link me to it.

 

[Harvey]

I think Yoast SEO recommends between 120 and 156. However this is more for grabbing the attention and making your site clicked on once it is in the search results. I don't think it has any effect on whether it's listed highly in the research results.

I disagree. CTR has everything to do with rank.

Putting the raw ranking factors aside, if Google puts you first and your CTR is low, you won't stay there long.

 

[KSA]

It's surprising to me that there is not a basic SEO addon that allows you to address title tags and meta descriptions independent of on page titles (H1s) and forum descriptions. Nobody wants a 60 character forum title or a 155 character forum description. At least I don't, and I'm a pro SEO.

When we were with Nabble - a really terrible piece of free software - I asked for this and was granted my wish in a few days. A week later it was rolled out as part of the core.

If there is such a thing, I apologize and please link me to it.

Tags do not matter anymore. Meta description might be something XF should consider adding but not going to be the big factor or a big factor for that matter either. Today SEO relies heavily on clicks+bouce rate+backlinks+site speed. These are the factors Google and other major search engines use to determine which site worth being shown on first page.

 

[Mr Lucky]

I agree bounce rate / engagement is probably crucial. So your meta description must be relevant to the content as opposed to clickbaity