20 Best Practices for Content Delivery Networks (CDN) SEO in 2022

When it comes to optimizing your website for search engines, there are a number of different factors to consider. One of the most important is your website’s content delivery network (CDN).

Your website is the second most-visited site on the Internet. That’s a big deal, not just for your business but for your SEO efforts as well. How you handle your visitors on your website will have a huge impact on how well your page ranks in search results. Optimizing your website for SEO success involves more than just tweaking one or two elements—it involves creating a dynamic and comprehensive strategy that works for all of your content delivery network (CDN) websites.

A CDN can help improve your website’s performance and ensure that your content is delivered quickly and efficiently to users all over the world. However, if not properly configured, a CDN can also have a negative impact on your SEO.

A content delivery network (CDN) is a set of servers around the world that help speed up web pages by taking care of jacking times, server response time, and connection latency. The more CDNs you have, the faster your pages will load because they will take care of any limitations that may exist with individual CDNs. In other words, by using a CDN to deliver web pages to users across the globe, you will naturally experience higher levels of performance and reduce bottlenecks that may otherwise impact user experience.

In this article, we’ll discuss some best practices for CDN SEO in 2022 so that you can make sure your website is optimized for both users and search engines.

1. Choose a reputable CDN provider

When choosing a CDN provider, it’s important to select a company that is well-established and has a good reputation. There are a number of different factors to consider when making your selection, such as the size of the network, the types of servers they offer, and their customer service.

It’s also important to make sure that the CDN you choose offers features that will benefit your website, such as content compression and caching.

2. Configure your DNS settings properly

When configuring your DNS settings for a CDN, it’s important to use a CNAME record instead of an A record. An A record points your domain directly to an IP address, while a CNAME record points it to another domain name.

Using a CNAME record will ensure that your website’s DNS settings are not impacted if the IP address of your CDN changes.

3. Use a subdomain for your CDN

When setting up your CDN, you should use a subdomain rather than a subdirectory. For example, if your website is example.com, you would configure your CDN to be cdn.example.com.

Using a subdomain will help improve the performance of your website by reducing the number of DNS lookups that need to be made. It will also make it easier for users to remember the URL of your CDN-enabled website.

4. Optimize your content for delivery

When optimizing, it’s important to make sure that your website’s content is optimized for delivery over a CDN. This means compressing your files and using caching strategies to ensure that your content is delivered quickly and efficiently.

5. Monitor your CDN’s performance

Once you’ve set up your CDN and optimized your content, it’s important to monitor its performance. This will help you identify any issues that may be negatively impacting your website’s SEO.

6. Use multiple CDNs

If possible, you should use multiple CDNs to further improve your website’s performance. This will help ensure that your content is delivered quickly and efficiently, even if one CDN experiences an issue.

7. Keep your CDN up to date

It’s important to keep your CDN up to date with the latest security patches and updates. This will help prevent any vulnerabilities from being exploited and keep your website’s SEO protected.

8. Use a secure connection

When setting up your CDN, you should use a secure connection such as SSL or TLS. This will help protect your data and ensure that it is delivered securely to users.

9. Implement redirects carefully

If you need to implement redirects on your website, you should do so carefully to avoid negatively impacting your SEO. Redirects can cause search engines to index the wrong page, which can lead to lost traffic and rankings.

10. Test your CDN before launch

Before launching your CDN-enabled website, it’s important to test it to ensure that everything is working properly. This will help prevent any issues from occurring after your website goes live.

11. Keep your CDN and website separate

It’s important to keep your CDN and website separate to avoid any potential issues. This means using different domain names and subdomains for each.

12. Use a content delivery network that is optimized for SEO

When choosing a CDN provider, it’s important to select one that is optimized for SEO. This will help ensure that your website’s content is delivered quickly and efficiently to users all over the world.

13. Use multiple data centers

If possible, you should use multiple data centers to further improve your website’s performance. This will help ensure that your content is delivered quickly and efficiently, even if one data center experiences an issue.

14. Enable compression

Enabling compression on your CDN can help reduce the size of your files and improve the speed at which they are delivered to users.

15. Use a CDN that offers DDoS protection

DDoS attacks can be devastating to your website’s SEO, so it’s important to use a CDN that offers DDoS protection. This will help ensure that your website is available even if it is attacked.

16. Use a CDN with a global network

When choosing a CDN provider, it’s important to select one with a global network. This will help ensure that your content is delivered quickly and efficiently to users all over the world.

17. Use proper caching headers

Configuring your caching headers properly is essential for ensuring that your content is delivered quickly and efficiently. If your headers are not configured correctly, your content may not be cached properly, which can lead to delays in delivery.

18. Use a CDN that offers analytics

Using a CDN that offers analytics can help you monitor your website’s performance and identify any areas that need improvement. This data can be invaluable for optimizing your website’s SEO.

19. Avoid using query strings in your URLs

When using a CDN, it’s important to avoid using query strings in your URLs. Query strings can cause issues with caching and may even prevent your content from being delivered at all.

20. Keep your content fresh

One of the best ways to ensure that your content is delivered quickly and efficiently is to keep it fresh. Regularly adding new content to your website will help keep users coming back, and it will also ensure that your content is always up-to-date.

By following these best practices, you can be sure that your CDN is properly configured and optimized for both users and search engines.