Create a Search Engine Friendly Web Site Design

Now that you understand what a search engine is [SE-101], have learned how to read the top 4 search engine layouts, and know the difference between an organic/natural listing and a PPC (Pay Per Click) listing [SE-102], the next step is to learn the correct steps for creating a search engine friendly design for your Web site.

Search engine friendliness is the process of creating a Web site that the search engines can read easily and index appropriately. To create a search engine friendly site, you must first learn about meta tags.

WHAT ARE META TAGS AND WHERE DO YOU PUT THEM?

A meta tag is a special HTML tag that provides information about a Web page. Unlike normal HTML tags, meta tags do not affect how the page is displayed. Instead, they provide information such as who created the page, how often it is updated, what the page is about, and which keywords represent the page’s content. Many search engines use this information when building their indices.

Every page of your Web site is an opportunity for you to advertise your business. To make use of this opportunity, you have to tell the search engines about each page. This is accomplished with 3 main meta tags (wording and phrases that are coded into each page of your Web site in the section).

1 – Meta Title
2 – Meta Description
3 – Meta Keywords (not used by most search engines)

HOW DO YOU WRITE A SEARCH ENGINE FRIENDLY META TAG?

Meta Title – The Meta Title should be approximately 60 characters and should be comprised of search term phrases YOU KNOW your potential guests are typing.

Meta Description – The Meta Description should be approximately 125 – 150 characters and act as the tag line that entices the potential guest to click on your listing and learn more. The Description should also include the name of your business as well as the search terms used in your title. The Description should be in sentence format.

Meta Keywords (not used by most search engines) – If you choose to include Meta Keywords on your Web site pages, they should be approximately 200-250 characters.

Example:

<title>Search Engine Friendly, Search Engine Friendly Design</title>

Finally, to best support your meta tags, the content on your page should be a minimum of 150 words, including the words and word phrases you have chosen for your Meta Title.

Recommendation: You should create separate and unique metas for each and every page of your Web site. The search engines will index each page independently and create entrance pages based on your meta tags and content for each of these pages. The more pages you have indexed, the more chances you have of being found for different keyword phrases.

Hint: When looking at a Web site online, look in the BLUE AREA at the very top of your monitor. The wording displayed in the BLUE AREA is the Meta Title for that page of the Web site.