On-Site Optimization: Meta Tag Titles, Descriptions and Keywords
Meta Tags, which include Title, Description and Keywords, are an important part of On-Site Optimization. On-Site Optimization means what you do to your website to make it search engine friendly (getting to the top of search engines). I teach clients about meta tags in one of my lessons so I thought I’d write out a few of the basics to use as a checklist. In the Search Engine Optimization world, there are many different opinions about what’s the “right way”. Here are guidelines I try to follow on all my sites.
But if you set your site up in the right way, or the way Google prefers, it can really help you get out of the Google “sand box”.
Here are the tips:
Meta Tag Titles
- 6-10 words maximum: the main reason I keep it at this length is because this is about all the room Google gives you. If you have more words, some of them won’t be seen.
- Minimal keyword repetition: why waist space using the same word over and over again?
- No domain name: remember, the reason we use specific keyword phrases in our title tag is because these are the words we want people to search for to find us. If they already know our domain name, they probably won’t type it in a search engine.
- Use keyword phrases that you want people to use to find you in a search engine: see the previous explanation.
- Use “byer phrases” instead of “browser phrases”: when I started www.ClogOn.com, I used phrases like “clogging information” or “history of clogging”. I was getting traffic to my site but realized that no sales were coming in. I discovered that those phrases were not ones people were using if they were looking to buy something. However, phrases like “clogging shoes” and “dance bags”, which are tangible products, have really helped me make sales on my site.
- Every page of a website can have its own unique meta tags: use you best keyword phrases on different pages. Ideally, if you use the keywords effectively, you could be found on the first page of Google for many different phrases.