SEO Mistakes AEM Authors should fix

Introduction

Managing content in AEM not too hard, deadlines in publishing and lot of tasks there, sometimes lot of pages will publish in bulk, still we need to manage the SEO I've been in that situation struggling with AEM.

The problem is small SEO mistakes can add up quickly. Your page might look great. If the basics are wrong Google won't show it to anyone. I've seen this happen times. Let me share the common mistakes AEM authors make. And I've made some of these mistakes myself.

Skipping the SEO Title and Meta Description

This is a one. You work hard on a page think it's ready publish it... And forget the title tag and meta description. Then Google generates something from your content. Or worse every page on your site ends up with the generic description.

Why does it matter? That's what people see in search results. If you don't have a title or description they won't click on it. Take a minute to write something like "Top 5 AEM Tips for Faster Publishing" instead of letting Google guess.

Headings That Are a Mess

Your page should flow like a story: one H1 at the top, H2s for main sections, H3s for subsections. I see pages with five H1s, H3s before H2s or headings missing altogether.

Search engines use headings to understand about your page. Users skim them to navigate. If you mess it up both will get frustrated. Here's a tip: Outline your page first. It keeps it logical and SEO-friendly.

Images with No ALT Text

You add a photo. Search engines can't "see" it without ALT text. It's like the image doesn't exist to Google.

ALT text helps with rankings by describing the image (like "Team brainstorming AEM workflow in conference room"). Makes your site accessible for screen reader users. It takes 30 seconds to type that. It's a no-brainer win for SEO and good karma.

Uploading Huge, Unoptimized Images

I see this all the time: camera files uploaded straight into AEM. They look great on desktop.... Slow down on mobile or slow connections. Pages load slowly.

Users hate waiting. 50% Leave if it takes over 3 seconds. Google notices the high bounce rates. Lowers your rankings. Here's the fix: Compress images tools like TinyPNG are free). Aim for under 100KB. Your sites speed. And your sanity. Will thank you.

Broken Links Sneaking Through

You refactor a page move some content... And oops half the links don't work. Visitors click, hit an end get frustrated and leave. It's bad for user experience. Worse for SEO (Google hates errors).

It happens to all of us. Just click every link before publishing. It takes two minutes saves headaches, angry emails and lost traffic.

Ignoring Mobile Preview

Your desktop view looks perfect. Text is crisp images are aligned buttons are popping. But then your user opens it on their phone: text's squished images are overflowing buttons are impossible to tap.

Most traffic is mobile now. If it doesn't look good on mobile you've lost them. Google uses mobile- indexing so they prioritize responsive sites. Always preview on a phone (AEMs preview mode or your actual device) before going.

Conclusion

You don't need tools or an SEO degree. Just take a minute, write a title and description structure headings correctly add ALT text to images compress file sizes, test links and check mobile. That's it.

Take your time on each page. It's the difference, between ranking on page 1 and disappearing into the void. Yourself. And your analytics. Will appreciate it. What's your biggest AEM SEO pet peeve? Share it in the comments!