Install and explore SEO Tools

Drupal CMS provides both built-in features and additional tools for optimizing your site and content for search engines. This page installs the SEO Tools recommended add-on and tours what it gives you.

Goal

The SEO Tools add-on installed, and a working map of the SEO features gathered under Configuration → Search and metadata/admin/config/search.

Prerequisites

• A running Drupal CMS site and an administrator account.
• Familiarity with the terms on SEO essentials helps but is not required.

Steps

Install the SEO Tools add-on

1. Go to Extend/admin/modules.
2. Select the Recommended tab.
3. Locate the SEO Tools add-on and select Install.
4. Navigate to any page, or reload, to refresh the administrative menu.

Drupal CMS installs and configures the following modules:

• Metatag, with the Metatag: Open Graph and Metatag: Twitter Card submodules
• Real-time SEO for Drupal
• SEO Checklist
• Simple XML Sitemap

Note

One deprecated module, SEO Checklist Optional Modules, remains inactive, and that is nothing to worry about. “Deprecated” means the module will eventually be removed from Drupal CMS and should not be installed on new sites.

Explore the tools

Find the following features in the administrative menu under Configuration → Search and metadata. Some were already built in to Drupal CMS; others arrived when you installed SEO Tools.

• Metatag: manage the meta tags in your site’s HTML, like page titles and descriptions. These tags help search engines understand your content and how to display it in search results. See Meta tags.

• Real-time SEO: optimize content directly on editing pages, with immediate feedback on SEO quality. When you edit content, a field set called Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Information offers:

  • SEO title: override your page title specifically for search engines.
  • SEO description: a brief, enticing description for search results and social media.
  • SEO image: an image specifically for social media sharing.
  • SEO analysis: enter a Focus keyword to see how well your content aligns with the search terms visitors are likely to use.

  To customize the settings, go to Configuration → Search and metadata → Real-time SEO for Drupal/admin/config/yoast_seo.

• SEO Checklist: a to-do list of SEO best practices for Drupal CMS. It breaks tasks into categories (meta tags, sitemaps, paths) and links you directly to the settings or modules needed to complete them. See Work through the SEO checklist.

• Simple XML Sitemap: creates the XML sitemap that search engines use to find and index your pages.

• URL aliases: readable, meaningful page URLs. For an About Us page, instead of /node/3, the URL is /about-us. Aliases come from the content title by default and can be customized.

• URL redirects: redirects from old URLs to new ones, keeping existing links working and preserving SEO value when a page’s URL changes.

SEO fields on new content types

SEO Tools adds the SEO Information fields to every content type, including ones you create later: an automation it installs attaches the fields when a new content type is saved. If a content type is missing the fields, reapply the add-on: go to Extend → Recommended, find SEO Tools, and select Reapply.

Verify

• Configuration → Search and metadata lists Metatag, Real-time SEO for Drupal, SEO Checklist, and Simple XML Sitemap.
• Edit any content item: the form includes the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Information field set.

Variations

• SEO Tools preinstalled: some site templates install the add-on during setup. If the Verify checks above already pass, skip the install step and explore the tools.

Related

• SEO essentials defines the terms these tools work with.
• Work through the SEO checklist is the natural next step after installing.
• Add features with recommended add-ons explains how add-ons like SEO Tools work.