In our next installment of optimizing Meta Data for a website, we look at the Description Tag. This tag is often the first description of a page the Search Engines and searchers will see. The Search Engines will see it when they crawl the page, and the searchers will see it when they have results displayed in the search results. If this tag is not utilized or left blank, the Search Engines will go else where on the site to find information to give to users in the search results, which means you have no control of what the searcher sees. By writing effective Description Tags, you have the chance to tell the Search Engines, and searcher what your specific page is about.

Tips for writing Effective Description Tags
When writing Description Tags, it is important to keep the searcher in mind. Writing unique and descriptive tags will help convert lookers to clickers. Research what is being displayed for your targeted keyword and then write a description that is appealing and different from the others displayed. This can be difficult so here are some quick tips to help in the process:

• Include Keywords – 2 times if possible. If two times doesn’t make sense or is not readable, don’t force it, once will do.
• Be Unique – What makes you different from your competition? Highlight these aspects in your Description Tag. It is also important to make it unique from all of the other pages on your site. Each page needs a different Description Tag.
• Be Creative – This is your chance to capture your target audience. Think about whom that is and write your tag in a way that will engage them.
• Limit to 180 Characters including spaces.

Like other Meta Tags, Description Tags are just a piece of the SEO pie. You are now one step closer to having a more optimized website.

When it comes to optimizing your website, there are a lot of things you need to do to compete with the big boys. You must make sure that you have proper metatag structure, relevant page copy, a strategic linking plan, up-to-date search engine friendly web design, proper site architecture, a blog, videos, social media and much much, more. Discouraged yet? Don’t be. Let’s take it one step at a time. First, pick a keyword, and just one keyword for your page. For the sake of conciseness, I am saving how to pick a keyword for another post.

This is an important step, because in most cases this will be the first thing the search engine AND the searcher sees regarding your site information. The title tag should contain your keyword and some supporting words to describe what will be on the page. If your keyword happens to be “Ski Boots”, you will want to include that and make it clickable. Something like “Men’s Ski Boots for Sale” would be a good title. This is good for both the searcher and the search engine, as it tells both exactly what someone will find on the page.

Quick and Dirty Tips

• Include Keyword
• Make it Clickable – Think “why would someone want to click on it”
• Unique – Make it different from all of your other pages and competitor’s websites. Perform some searches for your keywords and see what comes up.
• Limit to 70 Characters with spaces.

Title tags, as well as metatags in general are only a small piece of the SEO pie. Stay tuned for more help with metatags, keyword targeting and content optimization tips.

Many times when the topic of link building comes up, people cringe. This is because it is one of the most difficult aspects of SEO. Link building is a task that is never complete, and the rules are changing all the time. Many people focus on submitting their website to different directories relating to their site. This is a great way to build links, but not the only way. Check out these ideas for other ways to build links.

Create a top 5 or 10 list
People look for things to make their lives easier. If you can provide a “top” list of tips, tricks or other important things that help someone do something, they may link to you. The reason people like lists is that they are easy to digest, and they don’t have to read through lots of copy to find what they are looking for. The more helpful your list, the more likely someone will link to it.

Build a tool collection, or develop your own.
Along with lists, people like tools to make their lives or jobs easier. As an SEO Engineer, I am always looking for and building tools to make my job easier. If you can offer your customer or visitor helpful tools to, there is more of a chance that they will link to you.

LinkedIn Account
By now many people have heard of or used LinkedIn. For those of you who aren’t familiar, it is a social site for the business world. You create a profile which can include a résumé and other information. The great thing about LinkedIn is that it allows you to include websites in your profile. In researching companies with LinkedIn accounts, I have found that some search engines are counting links from LinkedIn as backlinks.

Submit Press Releases and Articles
Many sites already have a news or press section of the site. How many are really utilizing this content? There are many sites out there, which can syndicate these press releases. Not only will it be possible for another source to pick up this valuable information, but the release site will allow you to link to your site.

Start a Blog
Blogging is all the rage right now. Everyone and their brother has a blog. Do You? You may be asking what the fuss is all about. The reason blogs have become so popular and important is because it gives people the ability to share their views and beliefs to a mass audience. This is great for the individual. What about the business? In SEO terms, blogs are useful because they give search engines fresh content. Depending on how often you blog, you can see some fascinating results. I have seen Search Engines index a blog post minutes after it has been posted. If you can update your blog regularly, you can help the search engines as well as the user get more engaged with your site and product.