{"id":9918,"date":"2023-06-14T14:45:18","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T14:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/"},"modified":"2023-06-14T14:45:18","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T14:45:18","slug":"how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/","title":{"rendered":"How to drive SEO success with headless CMS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Since its rising popularity around 2015, headless CMS has been a buzzword for many organizations.<\/p>\n<p>This web management concept was meant to reduce friction between content managers and dev teams and empower digital marketers to improve their access to tackling <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/guide\/what-is-seo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SEO<\/a> initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>So what is this new(ish) concept that has digital marketing teams hassling web developers about? Can it really improve the way we do SEO?<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#What_is_a_headless_CMS\" >What is a headless CMS?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#How_headless_CMS_works_in_practice\" >How headless CMS works in practice<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#How_a_headless_CMS_benefits_organizations_and_SEO\" >How a headless CMS benefits organizations and SEO<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#Ability_to_scale_content_production\" >Ability to scale content production<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#Improves_devSEO_relationships\" >Improves dev\/SEO relationships<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#Improved_web_security\" >Improved web security<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#Faster_load_speeds\" >Faster load speeds<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#How_Google_feels_about_headless_CMS\" >How Google feels about headless CMS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#Best_practices_for_SEO_with_headless_CMS\" >Best practices for SEO with headless CMS<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#Ensure_schema_metadata_and_URL_structure_carries_over\" >Ensure schema, metadata, and URL structure carries over<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#Validate_that_the_content_is_mobile-friendly\" >Validate that the content is mobile-friendly<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#Compile_content_to_webpage_prior_to_fetch\" >Compile content to webpage prior to fetch<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#Have_new_content_update_XML_sitemap\" >Have new content update XML sitemap<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/how-to-drive-seo-success-with-headless-cms\/#Improve_your_SEO_performance_with_a_headless_CMS\" >Improve your SEO performance with a headless CMS<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_a_headless_CMS\"><\/span>What is a headless CMS?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Simply put, a headless CMS is a content management system that separates the process of creating and managing content from how it is presented on websites or applications.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It gives marketers more flexibility in delivering content to different devices and platforms, resulting in faster loading times and the ability to create personalized experiences.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_headless_CMS_works_in_practice\"><\/span>How headless CMS works in practice<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Imagine having a React JS site where your content changes must go through your dev team. Then you have to wait for their sprint to push to production. How long does that usually take you?<\/p>\n<p>Headless CMS platforms help solve this problem for organizations by removing that dev barrier.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With a headless CMS setup, content marketers can publish new content and edit existing content from a normal CMS like <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wordpress-seo-site-settings-387947\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WordPress<\/a> or even a custom-built CMS.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Any content added into the headless CMS sends that content to the main website through API integration. The dev team creates sections for the content to populate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_a_headless_CMS_benefits_organizations_and_SEO\"><\/span>How a headless CMS benefits organizations and SEO<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Headless CMS platforms have been providing significant efficiency solutions since their adoption. Some of the most common benefits for organizations and SEOs include:<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ability_to_scale_content_production\"><\/span>Ability to scale content production<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>With a fully decoupled CMS, SEOs can focus on optimizing the content without worrying about traditional CMS constraints. <\/p>\n<p>They can easily collaborate with content creators, streamline workflows, and rapidly scale content production across various platforms and channels.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Improves_devSEO_relationships\"><\/span>Improves dev\/SEO relationships<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The separation of the headless CMS and core web platform fosters a more harmonious working environment. <\/p>\n<p>SEOs can efficiently optimize content for search engine visibility without disrupting the development process.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, headless CMS platforms often provide SEO-friendly features and integrations, such as structured data support and customizable URLs, enabling SEOs to implement their strategies seamlessly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>By streamlining the content creation and optimization workflow, headless CMS empowers both SEOs and developers to work together more effectively, leading to improved search rankings, enhanced user experiences and, ultimately, a stronger online presence.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Improved_web_security\"><\/span>Improved web security<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Headless CMS significantly enhances web security by decoupling the presentation layer from the backend infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A headless CMS does not rely on built-in templates or themes unlike traditional CMS solutions. Instead, it provides content through an API, allowing developers to build front-end applications using any technology stack.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This separation of concerns ensures that sensitive backend systems, such as databases and server infrastructure, are shielded from direct exposure to the web.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Faster_load_speeds\"><\/span>Faster load speeds<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Since the front end is no longer tightly coupled to the CMS, developers can build lightweight and efficient web applications.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Headless CMS platforms can deliver content directly to the user interface by leveraging APIs, reducing the complexity and overhead associated with traditional CMS architectures.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<div class=\"nl-inline-form border py-2 px-1 my-2\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 col-xl-4 pe-md-0 pb-2 pb-lg-0\">\n<p class=\"inline-form-text text-center mb-0\">Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-7 col-xl-6  pe-lg-0\">\n<div class=\"form-nl-inline\">\n<div class=\"row g-0\">\n<div class=\"form-group col-12 col-lg-8 mb-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4 col-xl-4 mb-0\">\n<div class=\"d-none\">\n<p>Processing\u2026Please wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-dark inlineButton w-100 rounded-0 font-weight-bold\">SUBSCRIBE<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-2 col-xl-2 ps-1\">\n<p class=\"text-center mb-0\"><a class=\"nl-terms\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/termsofuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">See terms.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Google_feels_about_headless_CMS\"><\/span>How Google feels about headless CMS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Google is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DbgHkxqdu4c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">agnostic to which CMS<\/a> you decide to use, according to John Mueller, Google&#8217;s Senior Search Analyst. In a 2022 video on YouTube, Mueller stated that Google doesn\u2019t look for specific CMS signals to use in its algorithm.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In theory, this principle could also be applied to headless CMS, meaning it will have neither a positive nor a negative direct impact on your SEO efforts. Headless CMS is just one more tool to create web content.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_practices_for_SEO_with_headless_CMS\"><\/span>Best practices for SEO with headless CMS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ensure_schema_metadata_and_URL_structure_carries_over\"><\/span>Ensure schema, metadata, and URL structure carries over<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If your headless CMS uses a plugin to manage schema, <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/title-tag-length-388468\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">titles<\/a> and meta descriptions, and <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/change-url-seo-389209\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">URL structure<\/a>, make sure this information carries over to the compiled site. <\/p>\n<p>Your dev team can pull those data points via the API to ensure it compiles correctly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Validate_that_the_content_is_mobile-friendly\"><\/span>Validate that the content is mobile-friendly<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Even though the main site might be mobile-friendly, sometimes adding certain imagery may not translate well once the site is compiled. <\/p>\n<p>Always make sure to spot-check your content before publishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Compile_content_to_webpage_prior_to_fetch\"><\/span>Compile content to webpage prior to fetch<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Using fetch and render tests, ensure your page content is included in the fetch and has minimal changes between the fetch and render. <\/p>\n<p>While Google uses the rendered content in its algorithm, it\u2019s always best practice to ensure your website provides server-side rendering.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Have_new_content_update_XML_sitemap\"><\/span>Have new content update XML sitemap<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>While most CMS platforms have systems to create dynamic sitemaps, they may not inherently translate to headless CMS systems. <\/p>\n<p>Work with your dev team to ensure that any new or updated content dynamically reflects in the <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/pro-tip-3-important-xml-sitemap-checks-to-improve-your-seo-331253\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">XML sitemap<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Improve_your_SEO_performance_with_a_headless_CMS\"><\/span>Improve your SEO performance with a headless CMS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Adopting a headless CMS can benefit organizations, including improved SEO performance.<\/p>\n<p>By understanding what a headless CMS is and how it works in practice, organizations can harness its power to scale content production, foster better collaboration between developers and SEO professionals, enhance web security, and achieve faster load speeds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/headless-cms-seo-success-428202\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to drive SEO success with headless CMS<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since its rising popularity around 2015, headless CMS has been a buzzword for many organizations. This web management concept was meant to reduce friction between content managers and dev teams and empower digital marketers to improve their access to tackling SEO initiatives. So what is this new(ish) concept that has digital marketing teams hassling web developers about? Can it really improve the way we do SEO? What is a headless CMS? Simply put, a headless CMS is a content management system that separates the process of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9918\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}