Quick SEO optimization for showlistings

[civ]

If you have studied SEO optimization techniques at all, you are already aware of the importance of anchor text both externally and internally within your site. Here is a quick and easy optimization that will improve the anchor text flow between your categories and the listings themselves, as well as your search results.

This modification alters the list of results your visitors see after they choose a category to view - it also alters your search results. Here is the default view:



Notice how the title of the listing is not a link, leaving only "View Listing" as the anchor text - this of course tells the search engines nothing at all about the listing itself or where that link leads.

This slight modification will simply turn each listing's title into a link so that the search engines can better understand what that link represents.

Open showlistings.tpl.php and change this:

<td{if $entry.class<>""} class="{$entry.class}"{/if}>{$entry.title}</td>

...to this:

<td{if $entry.class<>""} class="{$entry.class}"{/if}><a href="{$entry.link}">{$entry.title}</a></td>

On our own site, we've also removed the "View Listing" column from our template entirely since it is now unnecessary. If you wish to do that as well, in the same template remove (or comment out) the following 2 lines/sections:

<th>{$smarty.const.LANG_VIEW_LISTING}</th>

and

<td{if $entry.class<>""} class="{$entry.class}"{/if}>
<a href="{$entry.link}">{$smarty.const.LANG_VIEW_LISTING}</a>
</td>

Note: Keep in mind that this modification is valuable only if you are using the Default setting under Search Settings -> Search Results Template. The Short Description Display option already has the title being used as anchor text.

Hope this helps someone.

[SkGold]

Good suggestion Civ.
You can also add the title="{$entry.title}" to the link.
Like this:

<td{if $entry.class<>""} class="{$entry.class}"{/if}><a title="{$entry.title}" href="{$entry.link}">{$entry.title}</a></td>

It will add even more importance for your link.

[CHRD]

I think this must become standard practice in 68, Iv changed mine to include some extra fields for link info, all info is in the forum to do this