Meta Tags

You know the basics of meta tags. Today you’ll optimize two invisible text elements: the meta description tag and the meta keywords tag.

Meta Description Tag

We see London, we see France. We see… your site’s meta description tag? Yes, not unlike your undies, your meta description tag is something that usually stays hidden but can be displayed to the world when you least expect it. For those rare times yours is exposed, you want to be proud of what people see (and here it’s probably best to drop the undies metaphor). Many sites make the mistake of ignoring this tag. Today you’ll make sure yours is not only present, but also written with your SEO goals in mind. As You know, the search engines usually display snippets from your site text in their listings. Here are some possible scenarios in which your meta description tag might be displayed instead:

• When there is no HTML content on the page, such as in the case of an all-Flash or all-graphics site, or if the only content is a redirect to another page

• When someone searches for your site using your URL but no keywords

• When off-page factors make your site a relevant match for a search but no exact match is found in your site’s text

Search engines often display 150 or more characters for the listing description, so you have a lot of space relative to the page title, anyway to convey your message. So if good writing comes naturally to you, you have a lot of opportunity to make this tag stand out. But if writing isn’t your strong suit, this tag gives you a little more room to make mistakes. Bring in a proofreader if you need to; this is a bad spot for an embarrassing typo.

Here are some pointers for writing a great meta description tag:

Keep it informative. Think of the meta description tag as an “About Us” blurb, not a “Buy Now!” advertisement. It’s your keyword-rich elevator speech (that’s a marketing term for the description of yourself you might give in a 30-second elevator ride). It’s not worth the upkeep to write this tag to promote special events or deals. And just as it’s probably not helpful to scream words like “WORLD’S BEST!” elsewhere in your marketing message, the same holds true in your meta description tag.

Pair it with the page title. While you can’t be sure exactly when or how people will see your meta description tag, it’s a sure bet that when it is shown, it will be right under your optimized page title. So don’t repeat your title text in your description tag. Include your keywords… Although the meta description tag may not be a huge factor in influencing rank, it may have a big influence on the searcher who is lucky enough to view it.

…but don’t overdo it! Stuffing the meta description tag with a long keyword list isn’t likely to help your ranks and will probably generate vast waves of indifference with searchers. Why not use this tag to give the searcher a reason to come to your site instead? Make it unique. Like your HTML page title, your meta description tag should be custom-written for each landing page to match its specific content.

Here’s some good news if you’re interested in saving time: The combination of page title and meta description tag can be used as is, or with a little trimming or spinning, for any directories that you submit your site to later. And if you’re looking for a keyword-rich tagline to add to the bottom of your page, your meta description tag can be a great starting point.

Some SEO strategists feel that with search engines doing such a good job of displaying text from your pages, you might as well leave off the meta description tag altogether. We’re not in this camp we try to take advantage of every smidgen of control we can get but the slacker in you might embrace it. Here’s one concession we will make: If you can’t take the time to make this tag unique for each landing page, you’re better off skipping it.

Site Text

Has there been something about your site’s text that has been setting your teeth on edge since you started learning about SEO? Is there anything in the content that you know is working against your site’s search engine visibility? Or are your keywords nowhere to be found? Now it’s time to address these issues. Today is a momentous day because you’re actually going to put your keyword research to good use on your site’s visible text content.

First Impressions

Have you been wondering how people select which search results to click on and how to make yours the one they choose? Search behavior research can help you understand and influence their click decisions:

• Research by search marketing firm Enquiro, Inc., on B2B search behavior found that 27 percent of searchers quickly scan the listings looking for words to jump out, while 15 percent read titles and descriptions carefully. But 57 percent start with a quick scan and then read the listings carefully if nothing jumps out at them first. Most searchers will click on the first appropriate-looking listing they find. (Source: Enquiro.com)

• Cornell eye-tracking research shows that searchers spend 30 percent of their time reading the listing title, 43 percent of the time reading the listing description, and 21 percent of their time reading the URL.The average total time before a click choice is made is 5.7 seconds. (Source: Cornell University Computer Science & Human-Computer Interaction)

• German researchers asked users how they chose what to click on.The winning factor was clear listing text.That means you should make sure your listings contain readable text, not keyword-stuffed garble. Other important factors were relevance of the listing to the search term, a clear and easy-to-understand description of the page content, and the inclusion of the website’s name. (Source: Fittkau and Maaß on behalf of eProfessional GmbH)

Today you will comb through your landing pages for possible text improvements, documenting them as you go. You can approach documentation in a couple of ways: One way is to compile your desired changes in the Text/Content Edits section on the Site Optimization Worksheet. Or depending on the layout of your site and the extent of your changes, you may just want to print out your landing pages and mark your changes on the printout.

Your goal: Incorporate your two or three designated target keyterms onto each of your landing pages without going overboard and cooking up an unreadable keyword porridge. If you have any writers on your SEO team, get them on board for this session.

Try these editorial strategies for making your text changes:

• Swap out a specific word for a top-priority keyword every time it appears.

• Swap out a graphic containing a keyword for text.

• Spell out an acronym (at least in its first appearance on the page).

• On a case-by-case basis, swap out less-effective generic terms for keywords.

• Make sure your company name exists in text form once on every page.

• Include keywords in links wherever possible.

• Add keyword-rich captions to photos.

• Add a keyword-rich tagline at the bottom of the page.

• Add keywords to page headers.

• Use bold text for keywords. This may provide some ranking benefit but has the potential for making your web copy look cluttered and confusing, so use with caution.