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"SEO 101... These
Tags Really Do Matter" by Ron Hutton
In search of the
coveted search engine traffic? Yes? Then don't ignore your meta tags. If anyone
tells you that meta tags are not important, they are seriously misinformed.
Follow these simple rules and the clicks will come. Skip them and the high
search engine rankings that you work so hard for will never deliver on the true
traffic potential.
Imagine that you check your incoming email and there are two messages waiting
for you. You look at the summary information for each and they appear as
follows:
MESSAGE #1:
From: unknownperson@obscuredomain.com
Subject: iaviq qiegaie aeiapih
MESSAGE #2:
From: your-favorite-guru@gurusite.com
Subject: An "insider" shortcut guide to creating sensational ads
If you're interested in how to write killer ads, which message gets opened and
which goes in the trash? It's obvious I know, but it's relevant. Test the search
engine results for one of your website pages and here's what you'll find...
The search engine results pages (SERPs) for the big 4 search engines (Google,
Yahoo, Altavista and MSN) display information to their users by spidering your
web pages and grabbing the text from various areas. When someone conducts a
search and sees your web page in the results, here's what you can expect them to
see:
GOOGLE:
Your title tag
Your description meta tag
***********
YAHOO!:
Your title tag
Your description meta tag
Text from the upper area of your web page
***********
ALTAVISTA: Your title tag
Your description meta tag
Text from the upper area of your web page
***********
MSN: Your title tag
Text from the upper area of your web page
Do you see the parallel between your web page's title tag and description meta
tag in comparison to the "from" address and subject line in our email
analogy above? The copy that you use in these tags becomes your advertisement to
the world when your pages are displayed in search results.
Since each of the top 4 search engines display your title tag first, take some
time and think through what you want people to see. Offer benefits. Offer a
solution. And when you write the copy for your title tag, use your targeted
keyword / phrase at the beginning of the title statement. Search engines place a
high value on the title tag.
Your description tag (used by Google, Yahoo and Altavista) should serve as your
call to action. Write your description in such a way that it compliments the
title tag and motivates the searcher to click through to your site for the
answers to their specific problem or need. Your targeted keyword phrase should
be included once but not at the very beginning of the description.
How important is it that your website name be included in the title tag or
description meta tag? You can draw your own conclusions, but in my view it's not
important. The link to your website will show people where they're going from
the SERPs, and after landing on your site the URL in
their browser along with your site's branding will help them remember where
they've landed.
Don't shortcut or poo-poo your site's title tags and description meta tags. When
the day comes that you're ranked number one in your niche (and you will be),
make sure that Google, Yahoo, Altavista and MSN display the information that
will motivate searchers to click though to your site instead of the site listed
just below you. It's your traffic. You earned it.
Ron Hutton is a 20 year sales and marketing veteran with a passion for coaching
and training. Subscribe to "GoThrive Online", for big juicy marketing
tips in small, easy-to-chew, bite size servings. Contact him at http://www.gothrive.com
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