No Title! No Business!

Without exception – everyone who owns a web site should know these three SEO techniques. If not to work on your own web site, at least to make sure that your web designer has completed the most rudimentary, yet most vital elements of your web site.

1. Title
2. Description
3. Keywords

If your web site is missing these three KEY elements the chances of it ever getting minimal attention by search engines is practically ZERO.

Spring 2010: I talked to a man who asked me to look at his web site. He asked me if I could help him get better rankings in the search engines. I told him that I would look at it and get back to him with a quote.

When I looked at the web site – I was SHOCKED!

The web site (which I will not reveal at this time) was apparently built in 2009. 2009! Let me add a small disclaimer at this stage because I do not know yet if the client created it (from one of those DIY packages), or he paid a professional web developer to create the web site for him. Also, the screenshot above is not from his web site but another that I was also asked to look at for a free web site analysis.

Aesthetically, the web site wasn’t bad. If it was a freebie template, it was a simple design. Not necessarily a modern design. It didn’t really ‘pop’, but it wasn’t bad.

The outside visual appeal was simple. A header graphic across the top. The navigation was easy and concise, and the contact information was clearly visible.

However, if I hadn’t been given the web address I never would have found it on the Internet.

This web site is a prime example of one of the three types of web sites on the Internet that I always talk about. [see types of web sites]

This web site would fall under the second category: an advertorial web site that you send people to visit. It is like a big business card with indepth information. A business card only works if I give it to someone. And this web site only works if I tell someone:

1. That it is there, and
2. How to get to it

As I looked through the web site page-to-page, I found numerous ways in which our company could help them.

However, the first major hurdle I saw was that it had NO ‘title’ inside the Title Tag, on any of its pages. As I said before, I was shocked. It had absolutely NO ‘description’ tag and NO ‘keywords’. You could try to market this web site until you were blue in the face, but unless you changed these three things – people would probably just call you “blue boy”.

Unless those three things are changed, or in this case at the very least added to your web site, it’s like a car with four flat tires – you can push and push and push but you’re not going to get very far.

<meta keywords=”insert primary keyword, secondary keyword, one additional keyword </ >

Search Engines have been using ‘keywords’ to index your web site into ‘relevant’ topics since the beginning days of the Internet Boom.

A Brief History

Early web designers, and programmers who were savvy to keyword tags, used this technique to prosper early in the online revolution, shooting their way to the top. Other, less reputable programmers used a technique known today as “keyword spamming”.

Email Spamming

We have all heard of email spamming – the process by which individuals, collect and mass market email offerings to thousands and millions of email addresses unwanted and un-ask for. For a short time a similar technique was used in the keyword meta-tags.

Keyword Spamming

Developers, marketers and programmers of that time, believed that the more words you had in your ‘keyword meta-tag’ the better. They would use hundreds of keywords (many of which were not relevant to the content of that individual web page), and they would even go as far as putting the entire text content in the keyword section.

Search engines collecting data about web sites were getting inundated with lots of (for lack of a better word) garbage text – spam. It was slowing down search results, filling up servers, increasing their bandwidth usage and giving poor or unrelated results.

Relevant Search Results

As search engines became familiar with unsavory programming techniques, they quickly changed the way they seek, store and post results. Relevant search results are results that relate to the specific terms you put into the search engine in order to get a specific result.

Search engines began to vary the amount of ‘keyword’ data it would collect. Google.com even implemented human follow up on web sites as they were getting indexed. It was (and I believe that it still is) kind of a hunt-and-peck system of human verification as new web sites were being discovered, but when a web site was found that was using less than reputable SEO practices it often resulted in either a ‘time-out’ in the infamous “Google Sand Box” (which they still deny exists), a bad ranking (if any) or banishment from the Google database – oooh!

How to format your ‘keywords’ meta-tag properly:

1. Keep them concise
2. Make sure each one relates to the topic of the web page you are using them on
3. Use no more than 3 or 4 keywords or phrases – see example below
4. Choose at least one major keyword or phrase – be specific
5. Choose at least one minor keyword or phrase – be specific
6. Choose a general topic phrase – more general to your topic
   A specific search term might be
   “#search engine optimization” or
   “#seo strategies“;
   “#internet marketing” or
   “#internet marketing services” is a more general category, but still related.

A good keyword meta-tag for a search engine optimization company may look something like this:

<meta keywords=”#search engine optimization, seo strategies, internet marketing services, oklahoma</ >

This short set of keywords is actually crammed full of useful variations. A search engine can put words together like:

• search engine strategies
• seo services
• internet marketing
• internet marketing strategies
• seo oklahoma
• etc…

Although as we mentioned, the first keyword has more weight to the search engines than the last keyword, they can be helpful in almost any of the combination’s that you can think of. So without repeating words, and using strategically chosen words or phrases, you actually increase your marketing ability.

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“‘#Web site designs’ that are well formatted, and well formed, are foundational to your ultimate success in relevant search engine results on the Internet.”

SEO secrets are all over the Internet. And every Internet marketing service believes that they hold the “KEY” to fast results. But are they lasting?

Truth be told, there is only one ‘key’ that will continue to give quality, relevant search engine results when all others have failed. Have you guessed it yet? I gave you your first clue in the opening paragraph.

Web site designs that are well formatted, and well formed, are foundational to your ultimate success in relevant search engine listings. And let me add this, they MUST be integrated in your internet marketing strategy early or all of your SEO tactics and efforts will ultimately fail.

Well formatted web site design is not a SECRET - it is common sense.

Step 1: Make your description no more than 27 words or 160 characters. Not much bigger than a tweet.

Why?
Because when you do a search in a search engine, they DO NOT DISPLAY any more text than approximately twenty seven words. Other description text is wasted, so don’t bother. In this case more is not better.

Step 2: Make your description compelling. The description metatag is slightly more detailed than your ‘title’ tag. They need to compliment each other but not be exactly the same.

Both your ‘title’ and your ‘description’ work in harmony to give the searcher a “REASON” to click on your link to get more information.

***** Keep in mind that Google does not use the ‘description tag’ when they show a listing of results in  their search engine. That doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be good. Yahoo does use your description tag (if you have one). If you don’t, they will use the first available text. *****

Step 3: Use one keyword or phrase in your description. It can’t hurt, but remember – don’t over do it.

Step 4: Make sure each page of your web site has a UNIQUE description of what you can expect to find on that specific page.

The more specific you are, the better your response will be.

Here is what a good description metatag might look like:

<meta name=”description” content=”"#Web Site Design” & “#Internet Marketing Services” – empowering your business for the next technological wave!” />

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<title>Do You Know How to Format Your Title Tag?</title>

A well formatted ‘Title’ tag is the first step in a well formatted web site design. Without it, all the SEO (search engine optimization) techniques in the world aren’t going to help you for long.

Well Formatted 'Title'? Not!

If you have hired a web developer to build your web site and he doesn’t put in a good, and unique title for you on every page of your web site, then he hasn’t done his job.

What is a ‘Title’ tag?

Your ‘title‘ tag is:

• your title tag is an html code in the top of every web page
• the first descriptive text that a person sees when they do a search in the search engines
• the descriptive line of text that appears at the top of your web browser when you open up a web page. Make it memorable.
• the text line that is saved in someone’s browser when they save your site under their most favorite bookmarks
• it is databased by search engines to help people search for relative search terms. If those search terms are in your title, you will have a better chance at being found. If you don’t have a title, it is highly likely that when it comes to search engines, your web site will be passed over for a well-formatted web site with a relevant title.

How to Format a Web Site ‘Title’

Understanding the roll that your title plays in search engines is key to formatting good title text. If you ever hope to rank well in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN, then creating unique text on every page of your web site is going to be tantamount to success.

1. Keep your ‘title’ text under 6-7 words – which equals approximately 74 typed characters. Seventy-four typed characters equals approximately half a Twitter – no more.That seems so short.It doesn’t matter. Any longer and it will be cut off by the search engine database system and be lost anyway. So when you go to Google and put in a search term – the first line result you see will be your title.
2. Make it memorable: it is the first thing that your new potential client is going to see you want to catch their eye long enough for them to read your description and click on your link. It doesn’t have to be fancy or cute – straight forward and precise is usually the best. A simple title for a web site design company in Oklahoma City might read:
   <title>Web Site Designs for Oklahoma City Businesses</title>
3. Use keywords or phrases in your title tag. A word of caution. The title is NOT the place to load up on keywords or phrase. It is necessary to use ‘a’ keyword, or ‘a’ phrase. Notice in the above title I used the keywords ‘web site design’ and ‘Oklahoma City’ and I still kept the entire title short and simple.
4. Try not to repeat word. You don’t need to repeat yourself in your ‘title’ tag.

Check Your Web Site

Now is the time to go check each page of your web site. If you ‘title’ tag is the same on all of them, you will want to create unique titles for each page if you want to rank better in the search engines. If you had a web developer make your site and they didn’t do it properly – go back and make them finished the job.

I hope that this has helped you understand the value of your ‘Title’ tag. It is just one step in the ladder to search engine success.

Don’t forget to Subscribe Now to our RSS feed so you won’t miss the next installment of how to format your description metatags and your keywords for optimal search engine results.

#Search Engine Optimization:

#SEO, as search engine optimization is a continuing process that must be massaged and tweaked in order to stay up with current trends in the search engines for good search results. It is not a one time deal.

Search Engine Optimization is a long term effect to good online business practices.

Unfortunately, many companies offer services and make them sound like an easy, one-time fix and all your internet worries will be over.

Search engine optimization is one of the most common terms used in (usually after) web site design & developement – and one of the most misunderstood. It is our belief at CIDA Enterprises, Inc. that:

1. Good SEO begins before the first bit of code is ever written for your web site.
2. It should be an intricate part of the entire design process and
3. It is a living, changing organism that must be nurtured and fed continually for the future growth of your business.

“If you don’t have time to do it right the first time – when are you going to have time to do it again?” Or, “why pay twice as much when it should have been done right from the beginning?”

Ask the average internet user: “What is SEO, or search engine optimization?”, and you will get a response similar to this:

“Search engine optimization is getting placed in the top rankings in Google.”

“SEO is putting in meta-tags, and lots of keywords…”

“SEO is link exchanging – if we have lots of links pointing to our site then the search engines will be able to find you quickly.”

Each of the answers in and of themselves may be true – however, they are hardly internet marketing solutions that offer favorable or long-term results when standing on their own.

Wikipedia – the free internet encyclopedia describes “search engine optimization”:

So what is the difference between “#search engine optimization” and “#Internet Marketing“?

SEO is one of the marketing tools available to increase visibility on relevant search engine listings. Internet marketing services are the conglomeration of tools to market your product and/or services throughout your web site.

SEO is just a branch of the root that needs to be optimized. It is at the foundational business plan and overall business marketing schema that SEO must be built in. CIDA Enterprises, Inc. understands this difference and helps you to understand it. Our exceptionally trained consultants begin with business optimization which feeds into the body of the oak tree of the type of business you are trying to build. One of those branches will inevitably be web site optimization – and that stage is where your SEO schema must come into play – otherwise you are just wasting your time and your money on a web design.