Drupal 6 Search Engine Optimization by Ben Finklea, CEO
Rank high in search engines with professional SEO tips, modules, and best practices for Drupal web sites:
- Concise, actionable steps for increasing traffic to your Drupal site
- Learn which modules to install and how to configure them for maximum SEO results
- Create search engine friendly and optimized title tags, paths, sitemaps, headings, navigation, and more
- A practical, step-by-step guide that takes the mystery out of Drupal SEO
In Detail
The earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. Despite several advantages, many Drupal sites suffer with poor search engine standings. Perhaps you are aware of the importance of SEO for increasing traffic to your site, but do you know how to apply it to your Drupal site? Here comes the first book about search engine optimization for Drupal sites.
This practical, step-by-step guide takes the mystery out of Drupal search engine optimization (SEO) by showing you the tricks of today's top marketing pros to achieve top ranking in the search engines. This isn't a book of Drupal SEO theory - it's a practical guide showing you which modules to install, which settings to use, and dozens of the most closely guarded "tricks of the trade" to get your web site optimized, higher in the search engines, and more profitable.
With this book and basic Drupal 6 knowledge - how to log in, create content, and install modules - you can build a perfectly search engine optimized web site. Each chapter uses easy, step-by-step instructions to walk you through the Drupal SEO modules, configurations, and content you will need to increase traffic on your web site. You start by reviewing the modules and tools that you should use to optimize your site, how to set up your analytics, and so on. Each subsequent chapter gives detailed instructions on implementing these features in Drupal. Later chapters cover topics like site organization, A/B testing, and automatic content tagging to maximize SEO and increase the conversion rate of your web site. When you have completed the book, you will have implemented the changes to your site required to rank well in the search engines. If you want to maximize the return on investment of your Drupal 6 web site and gain a significant advantage over competitors who are not using Drupal, then this book is for you. Imagine how great you'll feel when your site is optimized to increase the number of visitors and convert them into paying customers.
What you will learn from this book?
Working through this book you will:
- Explore 10 SEO mistakes you must avoid to achieve top ranking and increase traffic on your site
- Find out all the Drupal modules that are essential for SEO and may help your site rank well
- Create page titles and paths that search engines (and users) will love
- Learn about the 3 critical SEO problems that plague most Drupal sites and how to fix them
- Optimize video, images, and other media in your Drupal site so that search engine spiders can read their content
- Write content that users and the search engines will love and fix problems with duplicate content, robots.txt files, and .htaccess
- Set up systems in Drupal to automatically tag and organize your content
- Maximize the value of RSS, site speed, and Page rank in your Drupal site
- Implement usability testing, A/B testing, and conversions best practices to turn visits into revenue for your business
- Keep your site on a path of constant and never-ending improvement
Approach
This is a practical, hands-on book based around sound SEO techniques specifically applied to Drupal. Each chapter starts with a brief overview of the important concepts then quickly moves into practical step-by-step actions you can take immediately. Throughout the book, you'll get clear instructions and detailed screenshots, so you can see exactly what to do each step of the way. You will install and configure a selection of Drupal modules - each of which will move you one step closer to optimization. Chapter-by-chapter, your Drupal site will become more optimized so that by the end of the book, your site is 100% ready for Google.
Who this book is written for?
This book is written for Drupal site owners and those who create Drupal sites including themers, developers, programmers, and consultants. A basic understanding of Drupal will be helpful: what a node is, how to create nodes, how to log in to the admin sections of your Drupal site, and how to properly install and enable a module. No knowledge of SEO will be assumed but a basic knowledge of search engines is expected.
About the Author
Ben Finklea is the founder and CEO of Drupal SEO firm Volacci Search Marketing. He is the creator of the Drupal SEO Checklist module and he contributes to other SEO-related modules in the Drupal community. Ben is an internationally-known consultant, speaker, and trainer on topics related to SEO, Drupal, and building successful high-tech businesses. He lives with his wife and sons near Austin, Texas
Book Reviews, Interviews & More
- "Drupal 6 Search Engine Optimization is a book that any Drupal shop should have on the shelf for reference, and any budding (or experienced) Drupal dev should read to help them add value to any customer site they are building. Search engines many times send the lion's share of traffic to new sites, so building a site that search engines view favorably should always be a priority for any serious site construction project."
--Greg Holsclaw
Read the full review on Tech-Wanderings.com - "Not only did I learn about some Drupal modules I was previously unaware of, but also keyword research tools such as Google Trends and Keyword Discovery, and a few other hidden gems...regardless of your Drupal expertise or skill level, you probably will get something out of it. If nothing else, it should increase your awareness of SEO concerns when building websites or developing Drupal modules - it certainly has for me. Overall it's a decent book, and it would make a good addition to any Drupal bookshelf."
--Stella Power
Read the full review on CivicActions.com - "I was really impressed with the practical and helpful “how to” approach of this book.... There are plenty of helpful graphics and screen shots to help keep things interesting, and step-by-step explanations for how to do everything he recommends. This is definitely a reference guide that any Drupal developer or site manager should read and then keep within close reach."
--Lance Loveday
Read the full review - "I think this book can provide a lot of value to new web development shops or freelancers. If you become familiar enough with the material it covers, you will have an arsenal of answers to tough questions you're inevitably going to get from potential customers regarding SEO and managing content."
--Chris Shattuck
Read the full review - "I was a bit skeptical as to what a Drupal SEO book could do for me. But as I started reading it I realised it covered more than just SEO, it starts from the basics, gets you to install drupal, learn about modules and installing them as well as configuring specific modules. This is great as often that is the biggest flaws of Drupal contrib modules - they lack information on how to correctly configure them for you."
--Josh Waihi
Read the full review - "If you are a web site developer you need to be knowledgeable about SEO and be prepared to build your site in such a way as to ease the work of optimization. But, with so much information available on the web on the topic of SEO, even approaching the topic somewhat overwhelming. Luckily there are books like Drupal 6 Search Engine Optimization by Ben Finklea to help you get oriented."
--Andre Molnar
Read the full review on BeCircle - "This is perhaps the most gracious of the Drupal books that I have read, and the thanks to Drupal contributors are sprinkled liberally throughout the book. And this generosity really helps sets the tone for the community spirit that helps make Drupal so powerful for web site builders."
--Ken Rickard
Read the full review at Second Goose
Competitors were outranking me because I was nowhere to be seen. My website was probably 20 or 30 pages back until I engaged with Volacci… Now I’m getting phone calls from people saying ‘I found you on the Internet’.

