Website Search Engine Optimisation - Using The Description Tag
A Beginners Guide by Brian Cotsen

When optimising your site for the search engines the second most important coding on your website is the 'Description Tag'.

The Description Tag is not seen by human visitors but it offers the the search engines further information that the search engine spiders can read as they land on your web sites pages.

The Description Tag not only tells them more information about the page, if well chosen, will tell the spiders what search terms to look out for too.

Lets see how you can maximise your websites search engine optimisation using the pages second most important tag, the Description Tag.

 

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What is the Description Tag.

Lets take a look again at this web page's coding.

Click on the 'View' tab on your search engines top bar.

If you use Internet Explorer 7 you will be able to view the source code of the page, click the 'Page' tab as seen in the image as it appears below:

Then click 'View Source' from the drop down list.

If you use Firefox then you will find the 'View' tab will allow you to see the source code.

Click the 'View' tab.

Then you will see a drop down list that offers several options.

Click the 'Page Source' option.

Whichever you use you will find that a new screen opens revealing the source code of the page.

This source code is like the DNA of the web page. It is the source code that allows the page to be seen as it is, when viewed normally on the internet.

Looking closely to the top of the page you will see the following.

You will notice that the highlighted area start with.

<meta name="Description" content="

And ends with

">

These 2 surround what will become the 'Description Tag' of the web page.

Any words found between these 2 will be the 'Description Tag' of the web page.

What should you put into the Description Tag?

Your Description should include your keywords or key phrases that describe your site, or more specifically the subject of your web page.

When people are viewing a list of search results, they may well see the words used in the description tag following the Title Tag that the search engines return.

Should I include my company name in the Description Tag?

I recommend that you do use your company name in the Description Tag, your key phrases are more important than your company name, but your company name is of great importance to you and it is important that your website visitors identify and link your website and your company name.

If using my keyword once is good should I use it over and again?

No.

Repeating keywords and key phrases over and over is likely to be penalized by the search engines as they will view this action as a form of spamming.

Use natural language when writing your description tag as it will be displayed as part of the search results and your human viewers will read it.

There is much more to understand about Description Tags and I urge anyone who wishes to build well optimised websites to read and understand everything you can about them.

To learn more about the Description Tag I thoroughly recommend that you look at the following page www.seologic.com/faq/description-tags

Pay attention to your Description Tags and be sure to use this most valuable and powerful factor in SEO.

Next lets take a look at more important factors in SEO the 'Other Tags'

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