Meta Description’s For Basic SEO - 25 Pieces Series
Posted by weslinda on June 6, 2007 under SEO / SEM | 
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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.
- Incorporate Keywords specific to the page
- 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: