Gain Higher Search Engine Rankings by Optimizing Search Engine Tags

One of the ways that search engines rank website pages is through tags that are hidden in the code that lies behind the page. The three search engine tags that every website owner should be familiar with are:

1. The Title Tag

The title tag is given considerable weight by search engines when ranking a web page. It should:

• Include the search words that people will use to find your site, with the most important words first
• Match the content of the page—any words used should also be found in the text on the page

For example, the title tag for a page of the "Crystal's Chocolate Confections" ecommerce website might read:

<title>Chocolate Gifts: Candy, Truffles, and Toffee - Buy Online</title>

with the thinking that people might search on phrases like "chocolate truffle gift" or "buy chocolate candy online."

2. The Description Tag

The purpose of the description tag is to summarize the content of a web page. Some search engines display the tag below the page title in search engine results, some read the contents along with the page text, and some ignore it entirely. But, since you don't know what any given search engine will do, it's worth it to come up with a good description of most of your pages. The description tag should:

• Contain your key search phrases for this page
• Convince your target market to visit your site using persuasive writing and good grammar

For example, the Crystal's Chocolate Confections description tag might read:

<meta name="description" content="When only the finest gourmet chocolate candy, truffles, or toffee will do, choose Crystal's Chocolate Confections. Easy online ordering ensures a quick delivery of any of our delicious and delightful chocolate selections. The perfect gift for any occasion or to treat yourself!">

3. The Keywords Tag

The keywords tag is the least important tag—some search engines do not even look at the contents—due to its frequent misuse by those trying to trick their way into better search engine rankings. Still, it is used by many search engines and so should:

• Contain your key search phrases for this page, with the most important words first
• If your key phrases contain a word that would be repeated within the tag, avoid repeating the word twice in a row, not even variations on the same word. No word should be used more than three times. Any more than that and you may be flagged by the search engines as a cheater and your site downgraded.
• Contain any common misspellings, shortened forms of long words, and acronyms that people might use when looking for a site like yours

For example, the Crystal's Chocolate Confections description tag might read:

<meta name="keywords" content="chocolate candy gift truffle toffee chocolate coffee confection candy online purchase buy ship direct gourmet quality expensive chocolat cofee trufle trufel trufal gormet">

Market Research

For ideas on what to put in your tags, take a look at your competition. Enter some of your key phrases into Google or Yahoo and see what websites come up at the top of the list. Visit the corresponding pages and look at their tags. (To see the web page code in Internet Explorer, click on a web page, press the right mouse button, and choose View Source.) Most of the code may look like gobbledygook, but you should be able to pick out the tags near the top. Keep in mind, however, that not every site uses all the tags and many use them poorly. There may be other reasons they rank well in the search engine listings.

There are a number of tools that can help you choose your key search phrases. A free one is available at inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion. When you type in your phrase, it shows how often it has been searched for that month and suggests related phrases. You can be surprised to find that the terms you think people would search on are seldom used or not used at all. This knowledge is invaluable in crafting tags that will draw real visitors.

Getting to the top of the search engines is not a quick or easy process, but spending time on building quality search engine tags is one important piece of the puzzle.