| Many people are afraid to write the meta
tags for their websites, thinking that they would have to be search engine optimization
specialists in order to do it properly. While you may not have any special expertise in
the field of search engine optimization, you should be an expert in your own business's
area of activity, and if you combine this knowledge with some simple guidelines you can
write accurate meta tags. Let us see how to write one of the most important meta tags, the
description tag.
The description tag is one of the "big three"
meta tags, which also include the title tag, and the keywords tag. These three meta tags
along with other tags are located in the html code of your website between the sections
marked <head> and </head>. While this information is not seen on your web page
when someone views your site with a browser, the head section is read by the search engine
"robots" and helps the search engines to "understand" what your web
page is all about.
Writing the description tag is a good exercise because it
will force you to become clear about what you are doing and what you are offering to your
viewers. A description tag is in fact like a short mission statement, explaining your
enterprise in a nutshell. If someone wakes you in the middle of the night and asks you
what your website or your business is all about, you should be able to answer with a
concise two or three sentence description without any hesitation.
Here is step-by-step guide to creating and using effective
website description tags:
1. Write like a journalist. Mention the important W's, such
as who, what, where, when, why. In a description tag, the "what" is the most
important element. What do you do? What do you sell? Where do you do it? What is this page
all about? Describe what you do in a simple sentence and be sure to incorporate the words
and phrases which are most likely to be used when people search for your product or
service.
Suppose your business is the Kenosha Wisconsin Window
Cleaning Company. A description tag for your main page might start off like this: The
Kenosha Wisconsin Window Cleaning Company provides window cleaning services for residences
and businesses in the greater Kenosha, Wisconsin area.
2. Include your Unique Selling Proposition or USP: The USP
is actually the "why" of the classic "who, what, where and why"
formula. Why should someone use your service and not someone else's? The USP is what sets
you apart from the others.
Remember when someone makes a query in a search engine
yours will not be the only site that comes up. Your competitors will also be there, and
they will offer similar products or services. In many search engines the description tag
or part of the description tag is displayed in the search results. If your description tag
provides some distinctive information, conveying a unique benefit that you provide, then
the likelihood that a searcher will click through to your site will increase.
Let's go back to the example of the Kenosha Window Cleaning
site and add the USP to the description. The first lines of the description read:
"The Kenosha Wisconsin Window Cleaning Company provides window cleaning services for
residences and businesses in the greater Kenosha, Wisconsin area." Another sentence
saying "We guarantee a great job every time at a price you can afford," could be
added to give more detail about the quality, guarantee and the affordability of the
service.
3. Put this description in the meta tag section of the head
and in the text of the page itself.
You've just taken some time to explain what your web page
is all about, and have included some compelling reason why someone should buy your product
or service. Don't hide this information in a place where your readers cannot see it. If
you only put the description in the meta tag section, then the search engine robots will
see it but many of your visitors will not.
Rather, use your description as part of your first
paragraph or even as part of your opening headline. Your description contains your
important key phrase and key words. If you place it in the opening paragraph or somewhere
on your page, then the search engine optimization value of the description is doubled or
even tripled. A big mistake in search engine optimization is to use meta tags, but then
have no descriptive text on the page, relying on images to convey the message. Use the
description tag to begin your text, and add some more to amplify it and expand on what you
have written.
4. Write a distinct description tag for each of your pages,
focusing on the unique content and purpose of that particular page.
Another big mistake on many websites is to use the same
meta tags on all the pages. Each of your pages is different. Each page has or should have
a special item of importance. Look at your pages and think of the special part that the
page plays in your overall marketing effort, and make a unique description tag. As with
the description tag for your main page, put this description within the text of the page
itself.
Even if you get a professional search engine optimization
service to write the main meta tags for your site, you can put this knowledge into
practice whenever you add new pages to your site. Good description tags will help your
site to be found in search engine queries, and when used as part of the main text of your
pages will also help your web visitors to quickly understand your most important marketing
messages.
Donald Nelson Copyright, 2004 |