So you’ve got a Joomla website, or you’re looking to get a website built in Joomla and you’re wondering whether they can still rank in Google’s search engine.
The good news is, it is completely possible to rank Joomla websites in Google.
In fact here’s a Google Search Console screenshot of one of our Joomla SEO client’s organic traffic over the past six months.
The bad news is, it’s a lot more work than it is to rank a website built in a more modern CMS like WordPress or Squarespace.
And that’s the real reason why many SEO’s claim you can’t rank Joomla websites in Google.
Why Are Joomla Websites Harder To Optimise?
Unlike WordPress, Joomla is not SEO friendly out of the box. Which means you end up spending a significant amount of time fixing on-site SEO issues that are non-existent on other CMS’s.
Two of the most common SEO issues in Joomla are duplicate content (which Google isn’t keen on) and canonicalization issues (that can force the wrong URL to be indexed).
After spending a few hours on a Joomla website, you can usually resolve these issues using extensions like Route 66 – but that’s time spent doing something you wouldn’t have to usually do in another CMS.
And if you’re results focused like me, you’ll find that quite annoying. Which brings me onto the next Joomla SEO problem…
It Takes Longer To Develop In Joomla
Professional SEO services involve figuring out the searcher’s intent behind the keyword and building custom pages based off the on-page SEO averages that are being rewarded in the SERPs.
Doing this in Joomla is incredibly time consuming and more often than not results in a series of compromises and frustrations.
Even a lot of the die-hard Joomla developers we work with now admit that WordPress is considerably faster to develop in.
And that’s a real problem when you’re trying to make a truly noticeable improvement to the website’s SEO.
Rebuild Or Fix?
Whether you should rebuild your website in a better CMS for SEO or improve your current Joomla website will depend on how established the website is.
For example, if your website has a membership functionality and is working fine in every aspect apart from not ranking in Google – you’re more than likely better off fixing what you currently have.
However, if you have a simple business website without any complicated functionality that was designed to get leads, but isn’t due to poor Google rankings – a rebuild would be more suited in most instances.
If you’re not sure what to do, we can help advise you on your best course of action.
We have countless years of experience marketing websites online and know how to analyse the situation in a way that works out best for your specific goals.
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Ranking your site in joomla is particularly difficult. It seems like WordPress is a great option to have to build your site on.
Yep I think you’re right Amy. It is possible to do, but the extra time it takes can often make a rebuild the best bet.