Website SEO Tips
The Meta Tags
 A Meta tag is an HTML tag that identifies
the contents of a Web page. Meta tags appear in the first couple of lines of an
HTML page, as a directive to the Search Engines. The Meta tags can affect the way
Search Engines treat a web site. The Meta Tags are not visible in the web browser.
The most important of the Meta tags for Search Engine Optimisation are the Meta
"Description" and Meta "Keywords". It is recommended that these Meta tags be included
in each HTML page.
The Meta tags for a Website can be viewed with the
Web Page Analysis.
The Meta Description Tag
After the page Title, the Meta Description Tag is next in importance for SEO. This
tag contains a snippet of information that has a high impact on the volume and quality
of traffic that a Website receives. It is a marketing message solely to attract
quality visitors – but it can affect the ranking in Google's personalised
search results. All the Search Engines provide some support for the Meta Description,
some more than others.
The Meta Description Tag is read by the Search Engines and may be shown in the search
engine results page. The Meta Description appears (when it does appear) as two lines
directly under the page Title heading in the Search Engine results. Without a Description
Tag, the Search Engine will use the first few words it sees on your page, which
may be irrelevant.
The Meta Description Tag:
- Should accurately summarise the main theme or content of a Web page.
- Should expand on the page Title.
- Should not duplicate the wording of the Title.
- Should be different for each page.
- Could include a few targeted Keywords – but it must read well.
Keep the Meta Description tag as brief and as comprehensive as possible within about
160 characters. Check the Search Engine listing that there is no truncation or wasted
space. Potential customers have found the URL, and hopefully they will be attracted
to the site by the Title and the Description. The average viewer will spend less
than one second to glance at the Description – so it should be attractive
enough to entice the viewer to visit the Website.
The Meta Keywords Tag
There is no search engine that currently uses the keywords Meta tag. MSN used to
give some weight to it, Google not at all.
But include the Meta Keyword tag just in case. The Meta Keywords can be up to 160
characters. It is meaningless if these Keywords are not used throughout the Web
page.
The Meta Keywords tag is of great value to the copywriter
when constructing a web page. The Keywords should be well chosen, and based on statistically
proven web searches. The web page is then built around the chosen Keywords, ensuring
that they are repeated frequently. Only when the targeted Keywords and their synonyms
have been inserted, should the page be made an easy and meaningful read for the
viewer.
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