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How important are meta tags and meta keywords?
my2littlemunchkins
subscriber Posts: 3
I am so new to all of this, I have been selling on ebay for over a year and took the plunge (thanks to my dear husband) to start a website. I am doing my best to learn about promoting a website and driving traffic. How important are meta tags and meta keywords? It seems like some things I read say they aren`t and then others say something different? This is a whole new world to me and appreciate any tips or input?Hillary
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Each search engine values the placement of keywords differently. Howerver, here is a general outline of the important places to use your targeted keywords:
Your domain name.
Web page url.
Web page title meta tag (each page should have a different title).
Web page description meta tag (each page should have a different description).
Internal links (text based links to other pages) in your navigation and content.
In-bound links - text based links form other websites/directories and posts and signatures on forums.
H1, h2, h3... apply these styles to keywords in your content.
Bold text... apply to keywords in your content.
Alt image tags - have to each and every image in your web pages.
Text content.
Please note, when using keywords...try to limit the keywords to two or three on a web page. Do not put all your targeted keywords on one page. You`ll see that the above list talks about text not graphics... search engine do not see graphics (they see the alt image tag defined for a graphic). Also, keyword combinations of two or three words rather than a single word is more successful.
Researching your keywords is an important step to take, before determining what keywords to use in your website. So, you`ll pick keywords that (1) people actually use and (2) are not so highly competitive. Here are some keyword resources.
~Rolandvwebworld2007-8-26 21:52:41
Great answer, Chuck!
Dale KingDKing2007-6-12 10:34:53
This is the first time I`m joining this Forum. I`ve read all of your comments
and I`m still confused. I have a Service business,I`ve had my business site professionally redesigned and copywritten. I believe mega tags have been addressed in my business name businessbuilderscoaching.com and my blog,podcasts,radioshows are connected for additional content--now what do I do to get traffic to my site.I give a 2 hr free business health analysis in L.A., so I think I should get some who want a free analysis.So far- 2 months-zero. What am I missing? I know it takes time, so is it a good idea to advertise my site to drive traffic?
I`d appreciate all help.
How long has your website been live?
This may be more appropriate in the website review thread...but, looking at your site from a SEO view:
While your site has been indexed by the major search engines you have few backlinks. You should work on getting back links...which can be as "simple" as adding a link in your signature here at SUN.
Your meta description is way too large - too many words.
You need to focus each of your web pages on two or three keywords/phrases. While your site has been copywritten.. it is not really written for the web. People scan web sites rather than read them. So, descriptive paragraph headings are important (incorporating targeted keywords).
Your site uses java script to manage your navigation. While this provides some nice image affects, it can hinder search bots from properly indexing your site`s pages. For example, your menu is not seen by google`s search bot. You do have a site map which is good, but the links on the site map are not SEO friendly.
~Roland
Thank you so much for your feedback. You`ve both confirmed in different ways that the company that did my websites, which I like, still doesn`t seem to be SEO optimized. Their service was to include their Maketing abilities over and above web design. True I have professional copy writing, but not written for the web--and that`s what I`m dealing with. I`ve asked them for keywords, based on their work and I haven`t gotten an answer--more of trying to divert me..
I was very enthusiatic at the beginning, even wanted to associate my business with theirs because they said they had a knowledge of the small business owner`s need to have encompassing services---that I`m very disappointed with from this company.
I`ve talked to them about pay-per-click and I still haven`t gotten a reply.
I`m not a techno person by any means--so should I tell them what you`ve said or what`s my course now?
Thanks
HPS2007-6-13 16:36:7
Links from Internet search engine--google 25 hits-9 pages
Direct address/bookmarks--328 hits--312 pages
Robots/spiders--6 different robots
googlebot--78 hits
yahoo slurp--28 hits
I certainly see what you mean by too many keywords--I looked at the sentences.
My question is this--Am I being unreasonable to expect that when they did the copy writing that SEO friendly words would be in their focus---ESPECIALLY since they advertise SEO to make your website more search friendly--as their #1 item under How---can help me promote my site? ( I left out their name), It seems to me to me they did the opposite.Isn`t that false advertising?
I respect your opinions.
Thankswordwarrior2007-6-14 15:39:24
Unreasonable? Maybe not... it is hard to answer without knowing what the agreement/arrangement/contract you had with the web developer.
If they were to incorporate targeted keywords in their copywriting then they should have asked for or determined with you what keywords/phrases you should target. Did you go through that process with them or at some point identify your targeted keywords?
Technically, your site is search engine friendly to some extent - in that is does not employ code/technique that block search bots. It is not search engine optimized - in that is could be more effective in presenting targeted keywords to bots AND your viewers.
~Roland
If the content of the book covers a specific area, then yes certainly include that in your page title, description, link(s) and content.
~Roland
The meta portrayal is a ~160 character scrap, a tag in HTML, that abridges a page's substance. Internet searchers demonstrate the meta portrayal in query items for the most part when the looked for expression is contained in the depiction. Improving the meta depiction is an essential part of on-page SEO.