The Three Basics You Control
1. Page Titles
The title of your article becomes the page title in search results. It's the first thing people see.
- Keep titles under 60 characters so they don't get cut off in search results.
- Include your main keyword naturally — e.g., "Affordable Web Design for Nonprofits" instead of just "Our Services".
- Make titles descriptive and specific.
2. Meta Descriptions
The meta description appears below the title in search results. It's your elevator pitch.
- In the article editor, go to the Publishing tab.
- Fill in the Meta Description field.
- Keep it under 160 characters.
- Summarize what the page is about and include a call to action.
3. URL Aliases
The alias determines your page's URL. For example, an article titled "Our Team" with alias our-team creates the URL yourdomain.com/our-team.
- Joomla generates aliases automatically, but you can edit them.
- Use lowercase words separated by hyphens:
web-design-services. - Keep URLs short and descriptive.
- Avoid changing URLs for published pages — it breaks existing links and search rankings.
Additional SEO Tips
- Use headings properly — H2 for main sections, H3 for subsections. Search engines use these to understand your content structure.
- Add alt text to images — Describe what the image shows in a few words.
- Link to other pages on your site — Internal links help search engines discover and rank your content.
- Write for humans first — Natural, helpful content always outperforms keyword-stuffed text.