All Things Web

Well, it’s been quite a while, but we’re picking up where we left off a few months back.

Our next point in our series on 25 items that make a quality web site is that each page should have an author declared within the meta information.

Inside the head tags simply add this tag
<META NAME=”author” CONTENT=”Author Information”>

While this more an item of politeness. In a well structured document identifying the author of the document allows folks looking for specific information a place to begin with and notes who holds the rights to the documents.

While many people discount the work that can be put into Meta Keywords, from a basic standpoint, I would include this tag with 3-4 keywords from your site.

There is a general concensus in the industry that the major search engines no longer use the Meta Keyword tag as a part of their ranking algorythm, but I feel it should be included for quality versus ranking.

Add it in, make it on topic, but don’t spend weeks and weeks trying to decide whether you have written the perfect meta keywords tag.

To summarize, keep it short and sweet, 3-4 keywords, and call it a day. Keep it on topic, and page specific.

Read the complete article on 25 things your web site should contain as we continue through this overview of what makes a solid foundation for your web site.

This is the third article in our series on 25 pieces to a solid web site. Today, we’ll be discussing the Meta Description tag. While many people in the web design and search optimization world have misused this tag, it can be a great tool to improve a pages ranking in the search engines and once seen, it can be a great way to increase click through to a page from a search engine’s results page.

First, lets look at where in your page the meta description tag should go and if there is a particular order you should follow in your code with the description. I prefer to work on importance and flow of the page on where to place this tag in your code. While some may say it isn’t critical where it goes, I prefer to place this as the second tag inside your head section. First is your title tag and then the meta description and finally the meta keywords tag before you add any additional meta tags that your page requires.

Now that we know where the tag should be placed within your code, lets look at what information the tag should contain, and how much information should be in tag. Besides your Title Tag, I would share that the Meta Description is one of if not the most important tag on the page that you have full control over.

Your meta description tag should really do two things.

1. Incorporate Keywords specific to the page
2. Written to convince potential searchers to visit the page

Incorporating Keywords Specific To The Page
Each page of your web site has a specific purpose with specific information you are providing to your visitors. The page will have 2-4 main keywords that it is focusing on and those should be incorporated into your meta description tag. They should not be placed in the tag just to be included but they should be placed in a way the tag flows, is easy to read and is convincing to most visitors.

Written To Convince Potential Visitors
Your meta descriptions tags should be written with care as they are typically used by the major search engines along with your title tag as the link and description they return for users to see. You’ll want to ensure that your descriptions are well written, concise and have a bit of a promotional flare so they will encourage people to click and visit your web site.

Meta Description Resources:

• Creating Effective Meta Description Tags
• Meta Tags by Danny Sullivan

I stopped by Ask.com today, to check out some results and was suprised with a new look and feel to the engine. I stopped by blog.ask.com the official ask.com blog and saw they launched Ask3D today. A new approach to search.

First lets take a quick look at the announcement from Ask.com

Today, our search experience is taking a consequential leap forward in making all that information accessible in a coherent way, with the launch of Ask3D, a completely re-engineered version of Ask.com. No, you don’t need red and blue glasses to see it. 3D stands for the three dimensions of searching - query expression, investigating results, and digging deeply into content. You used to have to visit three different pages or websites to see and search through each dimension. With Ask3D, you can now get everything you need on one page…in many cases above the fold.

So what does this really mean to the rest of us? Well, at a minimum, it gives us something to play with for the next few days.

Out of the gate, the new design is fairly unique. You have the ability to skin the main page to any of ten different skins or the original default skin. While it’s a “cute feature”, it isn’t something that really changes the functionality of the the actual search. An interesting coat of paint but more of a whoopie doo than a wow.

Now, down to the main search, there are 8 “sections” or areas you can search. They include Web, Images, City, News, Blog, Video, Maps & Directions and Shopping. Individually, these are solid areas that allow you to find pretty much anything you are looking for. However the real fun is in the combined interface of the search results.

So for our example, I used the term golf. Kept it pretty simple and got some very interesting results. The results page brought in a mix of traditional results, recent news, images, local businesses, events and options to narrow and clarify the search. Built on an iFrame structure, this new results page is very interesting and a lot of information is presented immediately.

Overall, I think the new results page is interesting, but only time will tell how much it might catch on. Obviously, this is the direction the major search engines are heading, only time will tell how well this will do.

The Title Tag of your web page is one of the most important pieces that can directly affect how well your page is optimized for the search engines. Out of any attribute or section of your page, the title tag deserves the most time.

The title tag needs to be three things.

1. Specific to the page.
2. Short and concise.
3. Include on page keywords.

Specific To The Page
Each and every page on your web site should have a unique title attribute. The tag should be written specific to the content on the specific page. The title tag is typically used by search engines as the link text in the results and is the first opportunity for your web page to convince someone to visit. Time should be taken when writing these tags and never overestimate it’s value.

Short and Concise
In my opinion, and in the opinion of many SEO experts, you want to keep your title to under 70 or characters which forces you to only use words that are important to the page and the visitor. Clean, clear, short and concise is the best option for all titles. Make sure not to stuff this tag full of keywords that you feel need to be there. Simple and effective is the optimal way.

Include On Page Keywords
The final piece is to include the main keywords from the page, in the title. If the page is on pink widgets, then your title should say that, not something about blue widgets.

To summarize, your title should be specific and unique to the page, short and concise and include the keywords of the page. A well written title can go a long way to improving the quality of a page. Make sure to focus on this and take your time to do this well.

Resources On Title Tags

• How To Use HTML Meta Tags by Danny Sullivan - SearchEngineWatch
• SEOMoz - Best Practices for Title Tags | Rand Fishkin

Check out the other 25 items that make a great foundation for your web site.