How to edit global SEO settings in DatoCMS

Working on your site's search engine ranking is essential to help users find you and appreciate the performance, usability and quality of your content. 

In our first training article on DatoCMS, after explaining how to write an article, we focused on how to add metadata to images and how to enter a title and description to index the page correctly.

When you log in to DatoCMS, the last item in the sidebar menu is "Settings"; that's where you can configure SEO. 

Once you click “Edit”, you'll see several fields to fill in, some of them required and marked with an asterisk. 

Once you click “Edit”, you'll see this screen:

The required fields, marked with an asterisk, are the site name and the fallback title. The suffix isn't required, but filling it in is considered good practice. 

When you choose a page title, remember to account for its length including the suffix. 

That's why we consider it best practice to start from the global settings before moving on to individual pages.

The SEO panel will also ask you for some information about your Facebook and Twitter profiles. 

This lets you preview how your content will look when shared on these two social channels. It's a big help when choosing the copy and the placement of the call to action. 

Once you're done, remember to click “update SEO field” and to update the deploy at the top right. 

Once the global settings are filled in, make sure your brand name doesn't appear twice.

For example, if you want your blog indexed as “Blog - Company name”, simply enter “Blog -...” and DatoCMS will automatically show the full title in the SEO box preview. 

If you're already one of our clients and need more information on getting the most out of DatoCMS for your SEO strategy, don't hesitate to reach out on Basecamp. 

If instead you're interested in building your website with DatoCMS, contact us!