Web | Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
Get me to the top of Google!
A guide to keywords and descriptions
We are frequently asked by clients to help improve their Web site’s position in the search engines. Web users are increasingly shunning other methods of Web navigation such as directories and browser address bars in favour of relying on the likes to Google to send them in the right direction.
The abandonment of the Web address is so prevalent that digital TV channel More4 invites users to “search online for Programme Name” rather than reading out a cumbersome Web address. A good search engine presence, especially for your company brand, is therefore essential.
In the first in an occasional series of articles about how you can boost your search presence, we take a look at how you should identify pertinent key words for your site.
It’s important to note that there is no ‘silver bullet’ when it comes to improving a Web site’s search performance. It is an organic system which is affected by a variety of variables, including an ever-evolving search algorithm and competitors’ activity.
However, it would be reasonable to expect your site to be returned in the first page of results for search terms containing your brand name.
There are a variety of techniques which may improve the visibility of the site within the search realm. Some of these involve minor changes to the site itself (Site Optimisation), some are promotional techniques directly in traditional result pages, and some exploit new search technology. And of course, many will involve a mix of these.
Identifying key words
Before any on-site optimisation is carried out, you need to identify what you want to optimise for! Search engines can only return your site if the key phrases users search for are associated with the site.
It’s important to analyse and identify key words for each page, not just the site as a whole. This will help return the site more highly in the search results for “long tail” or detailed search terms.
For example, you may struggle to compete with the likes of Harveys, Habitat and Ikea for the search term “furniture” – however, you are likely to get a more favourable return if you optimise pages for more detailed searches such as “solid ash nested tables”.
Create a persona of a typical visitor to your site, and think about the search terms they are likely to use to reach your site. Resist vanity search terms which could prove to be an impossible chase!
There are a variety of methods which can be used to identify what users search for and establish what keywords your competitors are targeting – contact Fish.Net to find out more.
Once key words have been identified, they can be used to help optimise your site’s presence, via both on and off site methods.
Meta tags – Description and Key words
Although search engines no longer place any weight on these meta tags, it’s still worthwhile using them for two reasons.
Firstly, the description content is often used as the extract in the search results pages. It’s one of the few ways we can influence how search results are displayed, so it’s worth adding good descriptions to increase click throughs.
For example, a search on Google for “Saddleworth” returns Fish.Net’s community Web site, www.saddleworth.org.uk, as the top result, with an extract matching the meta description:
Whilst Google has not placed any weight on the description meta tag, the control (albeit limited) we have over the extract means we can improve how our search results are presented, and increase click throughs accordingly.
Secondly, many directories use meta information to populate their database. Key words surrounding a link to www.saddleworth.org.uk will increase the relevancy of the site as seen by the search engines.
Meta information should be unique to each page, concise and include relevant key words.
We work with our clients to identify descriptions and key words – get in touch to find out more.
In future features, we’ll take a look at other ways you can improve your search engines presence.
Tags: google, key words, keywords, marketing, meta tags, search engines, seo