Posted by Steve Nyhof on 9 March 2010 | 240 Comments
Due to being busy I have never written on this topic in detail like I am going to do here. When I really cared, I would enter my title and descriptions very specifically... and for google. This is about character length and keywords and how they are displayed in google organic listings. Note I said displayed. This article is not focused on keywords as much as on display.
While it is the keywords that make a listing show up in the first place, it is what happens next that is also very important. Someone needs to notice your listing so it gets a click. Right! This is more important at this point than even your landing page because the google visitor is not there yet.
Step 1. Proper keywords and site prep to make your listing show up
Step 2. Proper setup of your title and description content to make someone click
Step 3. A landing page designed to get attention and generate leads
The Title Tag
The title tag is the content printed to the top left of your browser window, found on the browser tab, and more importantly, used by google to display your listing in the organic (left side of the google search engine) listings.
The title tag must be made up with your main keyword for your landing page PAGE. Each page can and should have it's own title tag.
What do you want your title to look like on the google listing? This is your listing, and it is FREE. You own it. You heard me right, you need to look at this as real estate on google, the most powerful piece of real estate in the world, and you can have a piece of it; but it will take time and effort to stake your claim.
There are several purpose types of title tags...
- Internet Marketing Business by Steve Nyhof (keyword plus branding)
- Internet marketing Business | Looking For Partners Now (keyword plus call to action)
- Internet Marketing Business for New Marketers (keyword plus target)
- Internet Marketing Business | What You Should Know (keyword plus interest)
- Internet Marketing Business (keyword only - best for higher ranking)
None are right or wrong. The title should tell what your landing page is about. All titles here have the keywords in them and should when possible be the first words in the title. Your title tag should be 64 characters or less in length. Using more words does not also mean better click throughs, concentrate on catchy, exciting and interesting titles of any length.
When someone enters your keyword phrase into google, your keywords will be shown in bold. This will get the persons attention.
- Internet marketing Business (this specific title only without other words will rank better with google)
In the source code your title look like this... <title>Internet Marketing Business</title>
The Description tag
You would think that if you just get at least your keyword once in the description you will be fine.
Being in the construction industry, I design all new homes for resale when ever possible. Seems kind of silly while drawing a plan to be built for a client that we would care at this time about it's resale value. On average, people move every five years - resale is important.
What does it mean to design for resale? Well, it must be both practical for living as it is attractive. In fact, how the house looks on the outside (curb appeal) may be the deciding factor if someone will be willing to walk through the door. Hmmm. Written well, curb appeal, enter the front door, click to my site. Do you see some similarities here?
If you are just as interested in getting someone through your front door of your "home for sale", as you are in getting someone to click on your listing, you will want to make sure you have an attractive house - I mean description.
An attractive description? What the! Calm down, this can be kind of fun if you spend a few more seconds thinking through what you want to say, and then in how you want to write it. Your description should be written in 150 characters or about 25 words.
This rule is not true to all search engines, nor is the length of the field. Remember, we want to be impressive on google first and so we must use google for our guidelines.
I have never read anything on this before, never really searched for it, but I have been doing this for several years. The length of the google description field is about 92 characters long before the remaining description wraps to the next line. Can we take advantage of this? I think so. You see, I like to place my keywords into my description two time when possible. And I like my keywords to begin on the left when ever possible.
Title and Description 1.
Learn more aboout my Internet Marketing Business
People looking for an Internet Marketing Business are looking to get into an Internet
Business to help them gain financial freedom
Title and Description 2.
Internet Marketing Business for New Marketers
Internet Marketing Business for new Marketers and anyone that is looking to get into an
Internet Marketing Business that will help them gain financial freedom
Which listing has more curb appeal - attracts you more than others? Number 2. without question! All I did was change a few words to say the same thing and got my keyword to wrap and show up as the first bold text on the second line as well.
I want to end this with a thought that fits here. When we grew up each of the brothers owned beautiful cars, GTO's, Grand Prix's, Cutless 442, and others. However, when people would see and comment on our cars they would say that they just somehow look cleaner, sharper, beautiful. Why? Because we always painted the under-body of the car frame and wheel wells black. We always carried black spray paint in our trunks and stayed up on this. You could have the most beautiful finish that sparkles in the sun, but if the under-body was a little tan from the road dirt, it just didn't hold a candle to our cars.
My point. Do everything right, think about everything you are doing. Always be able to have an answer as to why you did or did not do something. Chances are, the extra small what seems to be meaningless details, will in fact be the difference on someone clicking on your listing and not someone else's.
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