Is your Divi website not ranking as high as you’d like? Many believe that using Divi is bad for SEO, with the theme/page builder blamed for all manner of performance issues. While its modular structure can present challenges around code bloat and dynamic content rendering, correct configuration can greatly reduce any SEO drawbacks. And that’s why we’re here today! 

The right combination of native Divi settings, plugin integrations, and general tech optimizations will actually outperform traditionally coded WordPress sites – so don’t let the myth that page builders hurt SEO hold you back. Instead, check out our five actionable strategies to drive more organic traffic, and unlock your Divi website’s SEO potential.

Key takeaways

• Configuring Divi’s built-in SEO options.
• Choosing the right SEO plugin for your own specific needs.
• Using Divi’s performance settings to improve loading times.
• Creating logical content groupings, clear navigation paths, and strategic internal linking.
• Further SEO education options with Divi Life’s SEO Pro course.

1. Optimizing Divi’s built-in SEO settings for maximum impact

Divi offers built-in SEO settings that can improve your website’s search engine visibility – you just need to tweak them for the best results. To access these settings, navigate to Divi > Theme Options > SEO in your WordPress dashboard. 

Here’s how to maximize their impact:

Homepage SEO optimization

• Custom titles vs. auto-generated options: Divi allows you to create a custom title for your homepage. Consider crafting a title that includes relevant keywords to boost visibility. If you choose the auto-generated option, ensure your site title and tagline (found in Settings > General) are optimized, as Divi will use these to create the homepage title.
• Canonical URLs: Enable canonical URLs to tell search engines which version of your homepage is the master version, preventing duplicate content issues. This is especially important if your site can be accessed via both www and non-www versions, or with different URL parameters.
• Custom separators: Divi lets you choose a separator (like a pipe ‘|’) to display between your site title and tagline in search results. Select a separator that improves readability and visual appeal in the SERPs.

Single post/page optimization settings

• Custom field implementation: For granular SEO control, use the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin for single posts and pages. This allows you to specify unique meta titles, descriptions, and keywords for each piece of content.
• Post-specific meta information: After enabling custom fields, add fields for seo_title, seo_description, and seo_keywords to each post and page. Populate these fields with relevant and compelling meta information to improve click-through rates from the search results.
• Default templates vs. custom options: While Divi doesn’t offer traditional page templates for SEO, you can use the Theme Builder to create custom templates for different post types or categories. This allows you to standardize SEO elements across similar content.

Index page SEO settings

• Archive page optimization: Optimize your archive pages (category and tag pages) by customizing their titles and meta descriptions. This helps search engines understand the content of these pages and improves their ranking potential.
• Category page meta configuration: Use the same custom field approach as single posts/pages to add unique meta information to category pages.
• Blog index page optimization: Ensure your main blog index page has a clear and concise title and meta description that accurately reflects the content of your blog.

Meta optimization strategy

• Dynamic variables: While Divi’s built-in settings don’t directly support dynamic variables, you can use plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math to implement them. These plugins allow you to automatically generate meta titles and descriptions based on post titles, categories, and other dynamic data.
• Templates for consistent meta structure: Create a consistent structure for your meta titles and descriptions using a formulaic approach. For example: [Post Title] – [Category] | [Site Name]. A set structure looks professional, makes your brand recognizable on the SERPs, and clearly displays the info you’re looking to share.
• Default fallbacks: Implement default fallback meta information for cases where custom fields are missing. Although there’s no guarantee that search engines will display your stated info, fallbacks reduce the chances of generic snippets being used

2. Choose the right SEO plugin for your Divi website

While Divi works with most WordPress SEO plugins, Rank Math offers a deep integration directly within Divi’s visual builder interface. This integration allows you to optimize SEO settings without constantly switching between tabs or screens. Once downloaded, you can simply click the Rank Math icon next to your Divi settings to access all SEO controls. 

Through this integration, you can efficiently manage:

• Meta titles and descriptions with live previews.
• Schema markup configuration.
• Social media preview customization.
• Advanced robots meta settings.
• Canonical URL management. 

Other popular plugins like Yoast SEO and All in One SEO (AIOSEO) also work effectively with Divi, but you’ll need to switch between the WordPress dashboard and the Divi Builder. When choosing a plugin, consider technical SEO implementations like XML sitemaps and robots.txt configuration – the best plugins offer some really neat shortcuts!

Potential users should bear in mind that these plugins won’t guarantee high positions on the SERPs, as Jennifer Rodriguez, Lead Developer at Divi Life explains. 

“While these plugins provide SEO scoring systems that grade your content, treat these scores as general guidelines rather than strict rules. Google’s algorithm considers hundreds of ranking factors, many of which extend beyond what these plugins measure. Instead, focus on creating valuable, well-structured content that serves your visitors’ needs.”

3. Speed up your Divi website for better SEO rankings

Google prioritizes fast-loading sites, so optimizing your Divi site’s performance will naturally improve your SEO. Thankfully, Divi offers built-in performance optimization tools and advanced techniques to achieve impressive speeds.

Divi’s performance settings (Theme Options)

Access these settings by navigating to Divi > Theme Options > General > Performance in your WordPress dashboard. 

Here you can enable/disable various settings geared toward improved speeds:

• Static CSS file generation: This feature compiles custom design styles into static CSS files, which can be cached by the browser. This reduces server load and speeds up page load times. Enable this option for improved performance. If you encounter design issues, clear the Divi CSS cache.
• Critical CSS: Divi identifies and loads the CSS necessary for above-the-fold content first, deferring non-critical styles. This improves perceived loading times and can boost Google PageSpeed scores. However, if you use a caching plugin that already handles this, disable Divi’s Critical CSS to avoid conflicts.

• Dynamic CSS: Divi’s Dynamic CSS reduces CSS file size by generating assets only for the features and modules used on a page. This eliminates file bloat and improves load times.
• Load Dynamic Stylesheet in-line: This prints the style.css file contents in-line, which can improve PageSpeed scores by eliminating render-blocking requests.
• JavaScript loading optimization: Divi allows you to load JavaScript on-demand dynamically. It will load and process JavaScript functions only when needed by modules or features on a page. To do this, enable the Dynamic Module Framework and Dynamic JavaScript Libraries settings.

Advanced Divi-specific speed techniques

• Optimal module settings: Use only the necessary modules and features on each page to minimize bloat.
• Dynamic content loading: Use Divi’s dynamic content options to pull information from your website’s database without a hitch.
• Custom breakpoint optimization: Adjust breakpoints to ensure optimal responsiveness without loading unnecessary styles.
• Selective module loading: Disable the Divi Builder on post types where it’s not needed to save resources.

Performance testing and monitoring

• Google’s Rich Results: Use the Rich Results Testing Tool tool to ensure your Divi website’s structured data is implemented correctly.

• Identify Divi-specific bottlenecks: Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and Pingdom can help identify performance bottlenecks. Pay attention to metrics like First Contentful Paint (FCP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
• Module-level performance analysis: Analyze individual modules to identify those that may be contributing to slow loading times, and use alternatives where possible.

Server-side optimization for Divi

• PHP version: Always update to the latest PHP version for optimal performance and compatibility. 
• Memory allocation: Allocate sufficient memory to PHP. Elegant Themes recommends a memory limit of 256M to 640M. The bare minimum you’ll need to run Divi is 128M but it’s highly preferable to take 256M or above!
• Database query optimization: Optimize database queries to reduce the time it takes to retrieve data. Regularly review your database structure and eliminate unnecessary tables or data.

For more detailed information on speeding up your Divi website, check out our article on how to speed up your Divi website. Divi designers will also find much of interest in our guide to handling Google’s Core Web Vitals.

4. Create an SEO-friendly content architecture

A well-structured website is a no-brainer for UX and SEO! Divi’s flexibility allows for creating clear content architecture – here’s how to implement it:

• Divi’s hierarchy: Use Divi’s sections, rows, and modules to create logical content groupings. Sections define broad topics, rows organize content within sections, and modules deliver specific elements.
• Heading structure: Use one H1 tag per page, typically for the main title, using Divi’s text module. Structure subsequent headings (H2, H3, etc.) in a logical hierarchy to define content sections and sub-sections. If you use a text module with dynamic content, you can add code to make it an H1 tag.
• Navigation paths: Use Divi’s menu module to create clear navigation. Implement breadcrumbs (using Rank Math or a Divi breadcrumbs module) to show users their location within the site. Breadcrumbs also provide Google with website hierarchy information.
• Category and archive pages: Organize content into categories representing main services or products. Customize archive pages to showcase these categories and create topic clusters.
• Schema markup: Use Rank Math’s built-in schema features to add structured data to pages. This helps search engines understand your content and display rich snippets in the search results. Check out the below example of a rich snippet – due to HTML markup, Google can add an image and review score to the search result, making it stand out among the other listings:

• Semantic HTML: Use semantic HTML elements within Divi modules to reinforce content relationships. Semantic markup gives the meaning of the info on your pages, rather than just defining the way it looks.
• Permalinks and breadcrumbs: Use Divi’s built-in permalink settings, combined with Rank Math’s breadcrumb features, to establish clear content hierarchies. These make it easier for search engines to find and rank your content accordingly. They also create simpler journeys for visitors, potentially reducing bounce rates and increasing time on site.
• Internal linking and content silos: Create content silos through strategic internal linking between related Divi pages and posts. This helps search engines understand the relationships between your content and improves user navigation.

Service-based business example

For service-based businesses, an SEO-friendly content architecture should involve a clear hierarchy, with well-defined topic clusters. Employ pillar pages to cover broad services like Web Design or Digital Marketing. 

Next, create supporting content such as blog posts detailing specific aspects like Responsive Design Techniques or Local SEO Strategies. Descriptive URLs and internal linking between pillar and supporting pages are great for UX and help search engines find your content with ease, giving it the ranking it deserves.

E-commerce website example

E-commerce websites can benefit from a flatter URL structure, ensuring product pages are within a few clicks from the homepage. You could organize products into logical categories (e.g. Shirts, Pants, Shoes) with optimized category pages targeting broad keywords. 

High-quality images, concise product descriptions, and user-generated content can improve these pages. Be sure to implement a clear internal linking structure, and consider breadcrumb navigation to further improve SEO.

5. Take your Divi SEO to the next level with Divi SEO Pro

Mastering Divi SEO requires more than just knowing optimization techniques. For the best results and highest organic search placings, you’ll need a deeper understanding of how to build Divi sites. And that’s where Divi Life’s Divi SEO Pro course comes in!

Our comprehensive 6-week course provides the in-depth knowledge and skills you need to become a true Divi SEO master, truly wowing your clients with the results of your site builds. Students gain the following:

• SEO foundations: Deep knowledge of the core principles of SEO.
• On-site SEO: Optimizing your website’s structure and content.
• Off-site SEO: Building authority and driving traffic through link building and outreach.
• Content marketing strategy: Creating engaging content that attracts and converts visitors.
• Local SEO: Performing in local search results and attracting local customers.
• SEO as a service: Learn how to offer SEO services to clients and increase your own service range.

Here’s what one satisfied student, Larry Van Deusen, had to say: 

“This course has been extremely informative. I’d recommend it to anyone who is looking to improve their services to their customers or demand more for those services.”

Optimizing Divi’s search potential is a fab starting point, but wider, in-depth knowledge will help designers gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. If you’re ready to become a Divi SEO master, enroll in our Divi SEO Pro course today and realize the full potential of your Divi designs!