How to boost your SERP Traffic (part 2)
5/26/2008
1. Take Your Time
Google is very upfront about its use of site description tags. It makes it clear that it DOES NOT, use the description tag to index pages in Google, but some people have interpreted this as meaning that the description tag is not important. Exactly the opposite is true. To use an analogy, description tags provide the “shop window” for your site. If your shop window looks cluttered, unorganized and unattractive, who will want to visit your site even if you have the best online content inside? So take your time and ensure that each web page is optimized for that specific tag.
2. View SERPS As A Sales Directory.
Too often Search Engine Results Pages are viewed by online users as information pages, when in reality they are not, they are a global sales directory. If you feel uncomfortable with writing good sales copy then delegate this to someone who can, or employ a professional copyrighter to create some short, catchy tags. Ideally you need to keep your site description to around 24 words in length as this is the approximately the maximum amount displayed in SERPS.
3. Avoid Duplicate Description Tags
Each page description should reflect what is on that page. You should never use generic description tags for the whole of your site. Think about it, if you have a page of content about Making Money through paid surveys, what has that got in common with another page about eBay drop shipping? Tailor your page descriptions to each page, that way online visitors get the most relevant content and are more likely to click through to your site.
4. Repeat Keywords
If you have a keyword and/ or phrase for your page, then you should seek to include it at least twice in your short description. This is because when an internet user conducts a search, Google automatically highlights the keywords in bold in the results page to make them stand out. The more times your keyword is repeated the more it will stand out to an online user as a suitable page.
So we could make description 1 that we referred to early even better in the following way;
Example: With one keyword in description meta tag;
“more money online with proven techniques from Internet marketing experts. ”
With two keywords in description meta tag; “more money online with proven techniques from Internet marketing experts. Learn how to make big money online with integrity.”
With three keywords in description meta tag;
“Want more money online? Make money online with proven expert techniques and learn how to more big money online with integrity.”
Now you may feel that using three keywords is excessive and that would be understandable. However, can you see just how the bold keywords will make this description stand out in Google Search Engine Results Pages. Remember that your short description tag is not trying to communicate everything about your site, it’s just there to entice online visitors and three keywords makes it more eye catching and gives the perception that your site has more relevant content. In addition we’ve added a short question right at the start to hook visitors and encourage them to read more.
5. Combine With A Good Title Meta Tag.
If you want your site description to really stand out in SERPS, ensure that you treat your title tag in the same way, as this will make your search results even more tempting to potential visitors;
For example:
Make More Money Online – More Money Online With Integrity
“Want more money online? Make more money online with proven expert techniques and learn how to make more big money online with integrity.”
The combination of the use of keywords in the title tag and repeated three times in the description meta tag make this site stand out and is a powerful marketing tool for your website or blog.
So how about spending a few hours doing some housekeeping this week on your site and ensuring that you make maximum use of your description meta tag. My experience is that it has increased visitor traffic to my site by between 15% within 1 week of doing this. Let me know how it works for you and if you notice a difference by leaving a comment on this post.
Stumble It!
Google is very upfront about its use of site description tags. It makes it clear that it DOES NOT, use the description tag to index pages in Google, but some people have interpreted this as meaning that the description tag is not important. Exactly the opposite is true. To use an analogy, description tags provide the “shop window” for your site. If your shop window looks cluttered, unorganized and unattractive, who will want to visit your site even if you have the best online content inside? So take your time and ensure that each web page is optimized for that specific tag.
2. View SERPS As A Sales Directory.
Too often Search Engine Results Pages are viewed by online users as information pages, when in reality they are not, they are a global sales directory. If you feel uncomfortable with writing good sales copy then delegate this to someone who can, or employ a professional copyrighter to create some short, catchy tags. Ideally you need to keep your site description to around 24 words in length as this is the approximately the maximum amount displayed in SERPS.
3. Avoid Duplicate Description Tags
Each page description should reflect what is on that page. You should never use generic description tags for the whole of your site. Think about it, if you have a page of content about Making Money through paid surveys, what has that got in common with another page about eBay drop shipping? Tailor your page descriptions to each page, that way online visitors get the most relevant content and are more likely to click through to your site.
4. Repeat Keywords
If you have a keyword and/ or phrase for your page, then you should seek to include it at least twice in your short description. This is because when an internet user conducts a search, Google automatically highlights the keywords in bold in the results page to make them stand out. The more times your keyword is repeated the more it will stand out to an online user as a suitable page.
So we could make description 1 that we referred to early even better in the following way;
Example: With one keyword in description meta tag;
“more money online with proven techniques from Internet marketing experts. ”
With two keywords in description meta tag; “more money online with proven techniques from Internet marketing experts. Learn how to make big money online with integrity.”
With three keywords in description meta tag;
“Want more money online? Make money online with proven expert techniques and learn how to more big money online with integrity.”
Now you may feel that using three keywords is excessive and that would be understandable. However, can you see just how the bold keywords will make this description stand out in Google Search Engine Results Pages. Remember that your short description tag is not trying to communicate everything about your site, it’s just there to entice online visitors and three keywords makes it more eye catching and gives the perception that your site has more relevant content. In addition we’ve added a short question right at the start to hook visitors and encourage them to read more.
5. Combine With A Good Title Meta Tag.
If you want your site description to really stand out in SERPS, ensure that you treat your title tag in the same way, as this will make your search results even more tempting to potential visitors;
For example:
Make More Money Online – More Money Online With Integrity
“Want more money online? Make more money online with proven expert techniques and learn how to make more big money online with integrity.”
The combination of the use of keywords in the title tag and repeated three times in the description meta tag make this site stand out and is a powerful marketing tool for your website or blog.
So how about spending a few hours doing some housekeeping this week on your site and ensuring that you make maximum use of your description meta tag. My experience is that it has increased visitor traffic to my site by between 15% within 1 week of doing this. Let me know how it works for you and if you notice a difference by leaving a comment on this post.
Stumble It!