Did you know?
According to BrightEdge, 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine, and over 53% of website traffic comes from organic search. That means if your Salesforce site isn’t optimized for SEO, you’re likely leaving a big chunk of potential leads and revenue on the table.
If you’re using Salesforce Experience Cloud or Salesforce Commerce Cloud for your website, you might already love its CRM capabilities, integrations, and customer data tools. But when it comes to SEO, things can get a bit tricky.
In this article, I’ll break down Salesforce SEO in the most practical way possible. You’ll learn:
- What makes Salesforce SEO different
- Common SEO issues in Salesforce websites
- How to fix those issues (step-by-step)
- Best practices to rank higher on Google
Let’s get started.
What is Salesforce SEO?
Salesforce SEO simply means optimizing Salesforce powered websites so they rank better on Google and other search engines.
This applies mostly to:
- Salesforce Experience Cloud (formerly Community Cloud) — used to build portals, forums, and knowledge bases.
- Salesforce Commerce Cloud — used for eCommerce stores.
Salesforce is a powerful platform, but many of its web features are dynamic and JavaScript-heavy, which can confuse search engine crawlers if not handled properly.
So if your site looks great to users but invisible to Google that’s an SEO problem.
Why SEO is Important for Salesforce Websites
Here’s the thing Salesforce sites aren’t automatically SEO friendly. Unlike WordPress or Shopify, you don’t get built in SEO tools. That means:
- Pages may not get indexed
- Meta tags may not be customizable
- URLs might be messy
- Page speed could be slow
- And structured data might be missing
If your target audience can’t find your site in Google search, you’re missing opportunities to:
- Get more traffic
- Generate qualified leads
- Increase sales and conversions
That’s why optimizing SEO for your Salesforce site is crucial.
Common SEO Challenges in Salesforce Websites
From my experience and working with clients who use Salesforce, here are the most common SEO issues:
1. JavaScript Rendering Issues
Many Salesforce pages are rendered using JavaScript, especially in Experience Cloud. Google struggles to index content if it’s not server-rendered.
Fix:
Use Server-Side Rendering (SSR) or Static Site Generation (SSG) when possible. You can also implement Progressive Web App (PWA) kits provided by Salesforce.
2. Limited Control Over Meta Tags
Editing title tags, meta descriptions, and canonical tags can be complex without custom development.
Fix:
Use Experience Builder settings to manage metadata, or use custom Lightning components that allow dynamic metadata updates.
3. Poor URL Structure
Salesforce sometimes creates long, messy URLs with parameters that aren’t SEO-friendly.
Fix:
Use URL rewrites and create clean, keyword-rich URLs manually. Ensure each page has a unique and descriptive URL.
4. Slow Page Load Time
Because of dynamic content and heavy scripts, Salesforce sites can be slower and Google hates slow websites.
Fix:
- Use Salesforce CDN for caching
- Minimize JS/CSS files
- Optimize images
- Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to track performance
5. Duplicate Content Issues
In communities or eCommerce setups, duplicate content often pops up, especially if there are multiple variations of similar pages.
Fix:
- Use canonical tags
- Avoid content repetition
- Create unique meta content for each page
6. Lack of XML Sitemaps and Robots.txt
Many Salesforce sites don’t have proper XML sitemaps or robots.txt files, making it harder for search engines to crawl and index pages.
Fix:
- Manually create and submit an XML sitemap to Google Search Console
- Add a proper robots.txt file at the root level
- Exclude private or duplicate pages
7. Missing Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Structured data helps Google understand your page content better — but Salesforce doesn’t add it by default.
Fix:
- Add schema markup manually using JSON-LD
- Include product, FAQ, breadcrumb, and review schema where applicable
Salesforce SEO Best Practices (2024 Updated)
Let’s keep it actionable. Here’s a checklist of SEO best practices you should follow if you’re using Salesforce for your website:
| Task | Description |
|---|---|
| ✅ Title Tags | Unique, keyword-rich, under 60 characters |
| ✅ Meta Descriptions | Persuasive, under 160 characters |
| ✅ Clean URLs | Avoid long strings and query parameters |
| ✅ Canonical Tags | Prevent duplicate content |
| ✅ Page Speed | Target loading time under 2.5 seconds |
| ✅ Mobile-Friendliness | Use responsive design |
| ✅ Headings (H1, H2…) | Use proper heading structure |
| ✅ Image Alt Text | Describe images for SEO and accessibility |
| ✅ Internal Linking | Link related pages together |
| ✅ XML Sitemap | Submit it to Google Search Console |
| ✅ Robots.txt | Allow or block crawler access appropriately |
| ✅ Structured Data | Add schema for rich snippets |
| ✅ Analytics | Use Google Analytics & Search Console |
| ✅ Content Quality | Focus on helpful, relevant content |
| ✅ Backlinks | Get links from trusted websites |
Real Example: SEO for a Salesforce Experience Cloud Site
One of our clients had a public-facing Salesforce Experience Cloud knowledge base. The content was useful, but they weren’t getting any traffic from Google.
When we did an audit, we found:
- No meta titles or descriptions
- JavaScript-heavy pages that weren’t indexed
- Missing sitemap and robots.txt
- Duplicate articles with similar URLs
We implemented structured data, set up server-side rendering, cleaned up the URLs, and submitted an XML sitemap.
Within 60 days, their organic traffic increased by 65%, and several help articles started ranking on page 1 of Google.
Tools to Help with Salesforce SEO
Here are some tools I often use when optimizing Salesforce websites:
- Google Search Console – to monitor indexing and performance
- Screaming Frog – to crawl the site and find SEO issues
- Google PageSpeed Insights – to check speed and performance
- Ahrefs / SEMrush – to track keyword rankings and backlinks
- Schema Markup Generator (technicalseo.com) – to add structured data
- GTM / Google Analytics – to track events and conversions
Finally
Salesforce is a fantastic platform for building enterprise websites and communities but when it comes to SEO, you can’t rely on default settings.
You need to be intentional about optimizing for search. From improving page speed and metadata to handling JavaScript rendering and setting up structured data every small fix adds up.
If you’re serious about generating organic traffic and leads, Salesforce SEO should be a top priority.
Need Help with Salesforce SEO?
At Pratsdigital, I am specialize in SEO for Salesforce Experience Cloud and Commerce Cloud websites. Whether you’re struggling with indexing issues, page speed, or want a full SEO audit we’ve got your back.
Let’s unlock your Salesforce site’s true potential.
👉 Contact Me for a Free SEO Audit
