MH1 Web Design Blog

Meta tags were started back in the early 90’s when the Internet was just getting its brand new legs and they were used to help the search engines organize the growing number of web pages. This was an easy way to get your site indexed and listed highly.

Soon after unethical webmasters started to abuse the meta tag by either spamming the page full of keywords or sometimes even made different websites appear in the results for a completely different keyword. Gambling sites would stuff their meta tags with more commonly used phrases in order to bring their sites to the first page and trick the search engine and moreover the user.

Now obviously, most search engines have discontinued the use of meta tags for organizing their search results. Algorithms have become much more technologically advanced and they use a number of other methods for indexing and sorting. The big question is if they are no longer viewed as a helpful tag, why do some SEO’s still use them?

Meta tags come in a multitude of different names and uses, so which ones should you use? These are the most widely used when optimizing a website.

Meta Description:
An important tag. This is your first impression, if you don’t have this tag search engines will just tag clips of your index page including the keyword that was being searched for by the surfer. First impressions often is the difference between a sale or no sale.

Meta Keywords:
This tag holds a bit of value if you keep it simple. Don’t add more than 20 or so keywords, as it does increase your on-page keyword density. In short, the search engine crawlers will analyze the number of times you use your keywords within the readable page text, measuring their “density” to determine relevance.

Title Tag:
While technically not a meta tag, the Title tag is still widely relied on by major crawlers when determining what sort of content your website contains. Many designers and rookies mistakenly use this tag to list a page name of their website or include the company name. Instead, try starting the Title with 3-4 short descriptive keywords or phrases.

To reach the top of major search engines, like Google, you’ll need to focus on both on-page optimization and off-page optimization. These strategies ensure that your web pages are properly coded and that many third party websites are linking in. Make sure to develop your web pages with proper search engine optimization techniques. Once you’ve done so, focus on building links to your website. Links should be formatted properly and generated from high ranking websites (Google PR).

1. Begin with properly formatted Meta Tags.
The meta tags, including your title tag, description tag, and keywords tag, are important for classifying your web page and communicating to the major search engines the content of your page. Although meta tags are not as important as they once were, they are used for many purposes including how your listing appears in search engine results lists.

2. Focus on keyword density.
Are you trying to optimize for a particular keyword or keyword phrase? Keyword density is the concentration (as a percentage) of your keyword phrase on a particular web page. Keyword density should range between 2 and 8% To determine your keyword density on a given page, divide the number of times your keyword appears by the total word count of the page.

3. Use proper page formatting.
Search engines love to see emphasis. You can identify your keywords with specialized tags such as title tags (h1, h2, etc.) and properly formatted text. Be sure to bold, italicize, and underline your keywords at least once on the page you are trying to optimize.

4. Generate links to your website through article marketing and link building activities.
Submit original content to article directories and authoritative sites in order to generate back links. When a third party website links to your site, search engines take notice – improving your overall search result placements. Build as many back links as you can.

5. Obtain listings in Web directories.
Large directories like the Yahoo! Directory, DMOZ and others are important to improving your overall search results. Many websites use these directories to display websites when users search on a particular term. If you’re not included in the directory, your website may never appear as a search result option.

6. Use social bookmarks to generate inbound links.
By bookmarking your website or webpage on popular social bookmarking sites, such as Reddit, Digg, or Del.icio.us, web browsers are pointed to your website and valuable links are created. This strategy is essential for making users aware of your content and generating interest. Many sites will provide links to valuable content.

7. Be persistent.
By applying search engine optimization techniques on a regular basis, you’re sure to improve your Google placements. The key however is to remain vigilant and continually apply seo even when you’ve achieved a number one ranking. Do so ensures that you will remain in the top position.

These strategies are important for anyone interested in improving search results for their website. Begin any search engine optimization effort with a thorough review of your website’s strengths and weaknesses. Once you’ve identified areas for improvement, separated into on-page areas and off-page areas, you’re ready to being promoting your website.

About the Author: Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert with more than 12 years of marketing experience. He has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Read Michael’s latest book on how to improve search engine rankings and visit http://goodmarketingtips.blogspot.com to receive your free daily SEO advice.

by Mike Hallaron

Google and other search engines scan your website periodically to evaluate your content, links and scores of other technical factors. Then using a complex algorithm, their software determines where your site ranks when your keywords are searched.

Keywords are determined and coded when your website is created. They can be revised at any time by your designer. They are one of the very important pieces of code the search engines rely on called “meta tags”. These “tags” cannot be viewed on your pages but they are included in the head code of your site and they are the first thing the search engine software scans or “indexes”. Other vital meta tags are the Title tag and the Description tag.

For business websites selling products and services or even generating leads, your keywords are crucial in getting your site highly ranked. Spend time studying what terms your potential new customers would search on Google or Yahoo. Your keywords should also be woven and used at least 3-4 times per page within your readable text.

Here are three free tools that will allow you to research your keywords. These tools tell you how many times an exact set of keywords have been requested. You can refine your keywords to boost your search engine rankings.

Wordtracker:

http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/keyword-suggestion-tool.html

Overture Suggestion Tool (aka Yahoo’s Search Term Suggestion): http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

Google AdWords:

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal