CMS Bitrix is a site management software on the basis of which you can create a resource of any complexity and scale. It also provides options for search engine optimization, which are constantly being modernized and expanded. A basic set of SEO tools helps you quickly perform common setup operations. If the standard functions are not enough, additional services can be used.
Basic SEO settings in Bitrix
CMS Bitrix is a product adapted for full-fledged search engine optimization. The SEO module provides a set of tools that allow you to set the necessary settings both for the site as a whole and for its individual pages.
Metatag Management
Meta tags are elements in the program code that capture data about the content of each page and tell search engines their name and short description. For robots to index it better and to assess compliance with the query, keywords are prescribed in them, and for users, they reflect the main advantages in tags. CMS Bitrix has the ability to view, edit and make unique titles, descriptions, H1.
Templates for Meta Tags
In Bitrix, you can fill in meta tags manually, as well as customize templates to automate the process. They can be created taking into account the characteristics of the goods according to the specified scheme. This feature helps to save time – if you have a multi-page resource, it is almost impossible to fill in the meta tags manually.
Keywords
One of the basic functions allows you to analyze the occurrence of certain keywords. You can fill out a list of words for a page and see complete statistics: density and quality of occurrences of queries.
Optimization of Graphic Content
The images on the page are a piece of content that needs optimization. In CMS Bitrix, tags for images can also be registered manually or used automatic generation using templates. New graphical content that appears on your site will be automatically assigned an alt title to help make the process of adding it faster. These elements will let the search engine understand what is shown in the picture and match it with the page content.
In addition, the developers have added options to optimize images. With these functions, you can reduce them to a predetermined size and reduce weight. This will increase the loading speed indicator, which is a significant factor for the SEO promotion of a site on Bitrix.
Sitemap
A sitemap is needed so that search engines can determine the structure of the resource, see the pages and sections that need to be included in the indexing. Bitrix uses a special tool to create it. The settings help tell robots which sections should be indexed and which ones should be hidden from search engines. The update process is automated – sitemap.xml will be changed when new content is available.
Creating a Robots.txt File
Robots.txt is a file that directs search engines to the sections of the site that should be indexed. The SEO module makes it possible to edit robots directly from the interface – it is convenient to add new directives to the list, enable or disable their indexing by clicking the appropriate buttons. With the help of flexible settings, you can set the order of access for all search engines, as well as prescribe them specifically for Google and Yandex.
Setting Page Addresses
Unlike addresses, which consist of a random set of characters and do not have a certain semantic load, human-readable URLs help to understand the structure of the site, since even before clicking on the link it is clear what the page will be about.
Bitrix provides for setting up human-readable URLs using a template. They can be generated automatically from the H1 header. At the same time, the system offers several options at once, from which you can choose the most suitable one. When forming the CNC, transliteration of the Russian text in Latin letters or translation into English can be used. If desired, the CNC can be configured manually.
SSL Certificate Connection
SSL is data encryption, which is the most common way to ensure security in the virtual space. Bitrix allows you to connect a free version to ensure a secure connection, prevent unauthorized access to data, their change, or substitution.
Microdata
The introduction of micro-markup involves the use of additional tags and attributes to structure data. With its help, search engines understand what is contained on the page. In addition, it allows you to create a clickable snippet and highlight the site in the search results – and this, in turn, will lead to an increase in click-through rates. Bitrix uses the standard Schema.org micro-markup, which is used by popular search engines.
Working With Duplicate Pages
Duplicates are pages with the same content that may appear during auto-generation, incorrect settings, changes in the site structure, or incorrect clustering. They negatively affect SEO-promotion, since the search robot does not understand which page should be shown. Bitrix implements the ability to assign canonical URLs to duplicates, which helps to inform the search engine that the page has been duplicated.
Analysis of Statistics
There is a functionality that allows you to analyze the results of SEO optimization work in Bitrix. For this, the following tools have been developed:
- “Transitions”. Here you can see the key phrases for which users’ transitions were most often recorded. The report displays the number of clicks on the request, their percentage of the total number, and statistics on search engines.
- “Referring Links”. The block is required for the analysis of referral sources.
- “Indexing”. The report reflects statistical data on search engines for a certain time period.
The Web Analytics module provides website performance data and statistics. It allows you to connect Yandex. Metrica and Google analytics tools and install search engine codes on pages.
Recommendations
Bitrix has a basic tool that reflects typical SEO errors for each page. The system will warn you if the alt attribute is not filled in images, there are no meta tags, there are several H1 headers, or, conversely, there are none, the amount of text or the number of links exceeds the specified values, etc.
Website acceleration tools
Fast page loading is becoming a significant ranking factor – this indicator is important for users, so search engines began to take it into account. Bitrix offers several tools to help speed up page loading.
Caching
Caching – saving frequently requested information in the quick access store to speed up the website. It allows you to remember the final result and use it for repeated calls, rather than process each request separately. This results in reduced network load while increasing the expected responsiveness of the overall system. Bitrix has the ability to configure auto-caching for individual components, so that they will be loaded without accessing the database.
Composite Site
A composite site is another way that Bitrix proposes to use to reduce loading time. When it is connected, the elements of the site pages, which are the same for all users, are taken from the cache, so they are loaded immediately. Background transfer is used for dynamic data that cannot be cached for any reason. For example, this could be the number of items in the Cart, targeted banner ads, featured collections, and so on.
There are two versions of a composite site in Bitrix: manual and automatic. The first option provides more opportunities for fine-tuning. When using automatic mode, productivity gains are enabled for all pages.
CDN Module
CDN is a network of distributed servers that helps to load content faster. At the initial request, it is loaded from the site, and at subsequent requests, it is returned from the cache, while the request is redirected to the closest network node. As a result, the network route is shortened, and pages are loaded several times faster.
Performance Analysis
A dedicated monitor is used to test the performance of the project. It shows the speed of the site on the hosting, identifies problem areas and major server configuration errors. The results obtained are compared with the reference, while recommendations for tuning are given and a list of the most loaded pages is provided. Thus, the tool allows you to track the correctness of the system, find the reason for the slow operation of the site, and correct errors in a timely manner.
Hosting Selection
There are certain technical requirements of Bitrix that hosting must meet. For a large site with a lot of traffic, you will need high power, which will ensure its fast and stable operation. When choosing, you can familiarize yourself with the list of recommended hosting partners – certified companies that consistently give good performance to sites developed on Bitrix and meet all the requirements.
Additional SEO solutions
If the standard package of functions is not enough, you can find paid and free additional modules on the Marketplace. Some of them duplicate the existing basic functionality, the other part complements the existing SEO optimization capabilities. The correct selection of additional tools will increase the efficiency of SEO site promotion on Bitrix.
What additional features are worth paying attention to:
- advanced functionality for micro-markup;
- human-readable URL management;
- tracking incoming traffic;
- Search for duplicate metatags;
- setting up redirects;
- optimization of graphic content;
- identifying error pages;
- checking the uniqueness of text content.
The need to use additional modules and their list must be determined in each specific case.
Conclusion
The basic version of Bitrix includes almost all the settings required to promote an Internet project. In addition, it is possible to automate many optimization processes to save time and effort. Connecting additional modules in Bitrix, if necessary, will help expand the existing functionality and further simplify the work.
It should be borne in mind that the technical setting of the site cannot be considered a guarantee of a quick and successful SEO promotion of a project on Bitrix. There are many other ranking factors that affect how a site will rank in the SERP.
Promotion of the resource should be carried out regularly in different directions: only, in this case, it will be possible to get a steady stream of visitors from organic search results. Therefore, for high-quality promotion, you should contact the specialists of the FireSEO agency, who have extensive experience and can promote the site to the top of the most popular search engines.
