Top Web Hosting Reviews
Top Web Hosting Provider of The Month:
Top Web Hosting
Visit Bluehost.com | Read Bluehost Review

>> Web Hosting Geeks // Web Hosting Articles // SEO - Search Engine Optimization  


How To Start An Internet Business - Meta Tags and Keyword Density








Okay, you have a domain name, layout and content. Now we get to a step that will go a long way to determining how the site will rank. Yes, we are going to focus on two infamous topics, meta tags and keyword density.

Meta Tags

Meta tags are html code blocks that "tell" a search engine what is on a particular site page. Meta tags are not visible on the pages of your site, but search engine robots focus on them. Three different meta tags should appear on each page of your site.

The meta title essentially acts as the title of the page. When you do a search on Google, the meta title is the first underlined text in each listing. The content of the meta title should include the keywords you want to push with the most important being listed first. Each word should be included no more than 2 times and the total word count should not exceed 13 words.

The meta description tag allows for an expansion of the meta title. Use short sentences to emphasize the who, what, why and where of your business. Make absolute sure that every keyword in your title also appears in your description.

One of the aggravating things about search engines is how they use meta descriptions. Most pick only certain sections of your description. When your link appears in the search results, the description may make little if any sense. Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do about it.

Historically, meta keywords were a very important factor in the ranking process. How times have changed. Google doesn't even look at them, while MSN and Yahoo give them marginal value. You should still use them, if for no other reason then forcing you to focus on your keyword phrases when creating content.

Keyword Density

Keyword density simply refers to how often keywords appear in a page as a percentage of the total text. A few years back, it was common practice to cram and hide keywords all over a page. You probably remember seeing pages with thousands of keywords listed at the very bottom. This no longer works and is considered spamming by search engines.

Much like the meaning of life, the best keyword density percentage is a hotly debated topic. Theories and opinions ranged from 1.5 to as high as 20 percent. We recently ran a test with a page that only had a keyword phrase on it, thus representing a 100% keyword density. The only search engine that reacted was Yahoo, which listed it at number 1 for 25 days before dropping it. Notwithstanding this test, the simple fact is that nobody really knows the optimal density, except for programmers at the search engines. Rumor has it that they are permanently locked away in the Himalayas, so there isn't much hope of getting any information from them.

Our experience is keyword density really doesn't matter if you have flowing text on the page. The point of your site is to sell, so write copy that accomplishes that goal. Once you have completed the copy, modify it to make sure the important keywords appear at least once in the first paragraph. Do not force the keywords into sentences; just make sure they appear at least once. We have clients with number 1 rankings on Google, Yahoo and MSN that have keyword densities ranging from .5 to 18.5 percent. Yes, these rankings are on keywords with lots of competition and traffic.

In Closing

In my opinion, meta tags and keyword density are mystified far too much. They are important factors, but the content on your pages is far more so. Be judicious with your content, pursue a targeted linking campaign and the rankings will follow.

Halstatt Pires is with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing and advertising company in San Diego, California comprised of a search engine optimization specialist providing meta tag optimization services and Internet marketing consultant providing internet marketing solutions through integrated design and programming services.


MORE RESOURCES:

guardian.co.uk

SEO Firm India – BSolutions
BigNews.biz (press release)
It can be seen that Search Engine Optimization or SEO is becoming competitive day by day and with the services of an SEO expert, a firm can now concentrate ...
SEO Services India – BSolutions - Website Marketing IndiaPR-inside.com (press release)
BBC invests in SEOLast Click News
BBC bows to SEOguardian.co.uk
Search Engine Land (blog) -Kingpin Webmaster News -Search Newz
all 29 news articles »



Sea Food : EmailWire.Com SEO Press Release Distribution Services and Food ...
Emailwire
Emailwire.com™ is a online press release service with experience in SEO press release distribution and newswire services. Emailwire.com™ uses Web 2.0, ...



Fliqz adds video SEO service
CNET News
According to the company, SearchSuccess "addresses many of the common flaws in existing video SEO strategies." Rather than submit a video to YouTube to ...
Fliqz service optimizes videos for search resultsFierceOnlineVideo
Fliqz Launches Service to Drive Video Content to Top of Google SearchBNET
Driving Video Content To Top Of Google SearchMediapost.com
FierceOnlineVideo
all 10 news articles »


12 Must have SEO Wordpress Plugins
24masti (blog)
Every blogger tries each and every SEO tricks that is available to make his blog rank better. There are so many SEO Wordpress plugin available to choose ...
Wordpress Plugins You Can't Live WithoutpluGGd.in

all 2 news articles »


Combining SEO with Social Media Marketing: What NOT to Do
Drop Ship (press release) (blog)
Combining SEO with social media marketing for your ecommerce business must be done correctly in order to be effective. There are social media “purists” who ...
Social Media 101: Combining Blogging, Social Media and SEO for ResultsPractical Ecommerce

all 2 news articles »


MSN's SEO And Content Teams Standardize Efforts
MediaPost Publications
The senior program manager of SEO for MSN at Microsoft in the Americas says management wants to get more involved in the process, since having companies ...



Make it into Media (but most importantly SEO)
Fresh Egg (blog)
Almost instantly after the doors were opened, the Fresh Egg stand was swapped by people wanting to learn more about the company, SEO, and digital ...



Five websites you could use for SEO
Stuck On
Link building is one of the most time consuming aspects of any SEO campaign. It's time consuming because finding websites with which to build links to. ...



Small Business SEO and Online Marketing
BigNews.biz (press release)
SEO is an important online marketing strategy as it offers long-term success for your small business on the Internet. Some of the most recognizable and ...
Travel PR has changed #2: search engine optimisation (SEO)Tips from the T-List
Social Networking from Rub The Web SEO IndiaBigNews.biz (press release)

all 6 news articles »

Google News





 
 
 

© 2004 - 2008 "Web Hosting Geeks" | Web Hosting Reviews | Customer Reviews | RealMetrics Reviews | Hosting Articles | Directory | Partners | Contacts
Over 7000 articles: web hosting, web development, domain names, ecommerce, web design, site promotion, ppc advertising, seo, site promotion and many others.
Web hosting reviews, ratings and awards are not based on any incentives or commissions. Names and trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.
A direct link to Web Hosting Geeks (http://webhostinggeeks.com) must be provided in order to use any of the above information. Contact us for more info.

Partners: Hosts by speed, Cheap Website Hosting, Free Website Hosting, Cheap Web Hosting, Top 10 Web Hosts, Top 10 Web Hosting Deals, Best Website Hosting, Free Web Hosting, Free Web Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting, Adult Web Hosting, Web Hosting Discussions, Dedicated Server Reviews, Best Web Hosting, Web Hosting Discounts, HostProfessor.com, rsuog, halyava, PHP Website Hosting Services, Web Hosting Reviews, Hosting Uptime, Best Web Hosting Reviews, Cheap Webhosting, Web Hosting, Flash Templates, CMS Templates, Web Hosting Reviews, Website Hosting Reviews, Web Hosting Providers, Best Web Hosting, Top Web Hosting, RSUOG Web Hosting