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Website Traffic And Search Engine Optimization: Title, Tags And Content
By Donovan Baldwin (c) 2006

Search engine optimization is primarily about getting your
website tuned up to optimum effectiveness as far as search
engines are concerned. However, the intent is to get a
good search engine placement so that more humans will be
exposed to the "opportunity" to visit your website. If
done properly, the steps you take to optimize your website
for search engines can also often be used to optimize your
site to get website traffic. After all, it accomplishes
little to get a good ranking by a search engine and yet be
passed over by the human viewing the search engine results.

I have often pointed out how choosing the right domain name
could be a step towards search engine optimization AND
increased website traffic prior to website design and site
promotion considerations. In this article, I would like to
discuss three basic areas that should be considered in
planning and designing the website itself:

1. The Title Of The Website

2. The Meta Tags including: The Description Meta Tag, The
   Keyword Meta Tag and The Revisit Meta Tag.

3.  The Content Of The Website

The Title Of The Website Is The Headline

If you think of your website as the best advertisement you
can design to tell people about your business or product,
then the title is the headline of that advertisement. The
title is embedded in the head of the website. Most objects
in the head are normally visible only to search engines.
However, the title is visible to both search engines and
visitors. In fact, the title of the website is normally
the first clue a potential visitor has about your website,
as it is commonly displayed as the first identifying text
someone sees when they get a list of websites from a search
engine after entering a search. The title will also
normally be seen in the line at the top of the page.
Titles should be five to ten words long, 70 to 80
characters.

As with the domain name, the title will be scrutinized by
the search engine as to its relevance to the search topic.
Part of the ranking awarded by the search engine, part of
the placement in the list of returns may be influenced by
the wording, or words, of the title. When speaking of
domain names, I explain that using key words or phrases,
hence the term "keywords", in the domain name itself could
help raise the placement of the website. Continuing this
use of keywords into the title can assist this as well.
For example, the domain bicycle-parts.xyz, may be enhanced
by a title that uses the words "bicycle parts"; "Bob's
bicycle parts and service."  Thinking in terms of a
headline, maybe Bob would want a title that reads, "Best
bicycle parts delivered to your door."

The Meta Tags Talk to The Search Engine

Meta tags are snippets of code which are placed within the
head. Normally, they only speak to the search engine, but
not having the right ones could cost your website its
rightful placement and could create a poor impression with
potential visitors. While there are several Meta tags
which could be of importance, there are two that are
extremely valuable, and I am going to recommend one other
that, while not necessary, may be of value.

The "Description" Meta Tag Has Messages for Search Engines
and Website Visitors Alike

The description will commonly expand on the brief
"headline" presented by the title. Not only will the
information in this tag be of value in helping a search
engine determine placement of your website within search
results, but the description contained in this tag is
normally shown along with the title when the search engine
shows the returns for a search.

Failure to provide a description may not only make it more
difficult to obtain good placement within returns, but it
is likely that in the absence of a description, the search
engine will simply grab the first few words it sees on your
page, and that may be what the viewer reads as a description
of your website.

It is a good idea to repeat your keywords in the description,
but don't beat it to death. Also, most search engines will
only display the first 20 or so words of the description, so
don't get too wordy up front. Say what you have to say and
get it over with. The description should not exceed 150-200
characters.

The "Keywords" Tag is Fading in Value, But....

It used to be that search engines wanted YOU to list the
important keywords in your website. These days, the
programs used by the search engines generally extract the
pertinent and relevant keywords from the content of the
page itself and ignore the keyword tag completely. Many
website designers have gone so far as to drop this tag. I
and others leave it in for three basic reasons; we are used
to using it, there may be a search engine somewhere that
still uses it and why miss out, and in some cases where
relevant keywords cannot be picked up from context, the
keyword tag may be the coin toss that decides the issue.
How valid these arguments are, I have no way of knowing,
but it is just as easy to put in a keyword tag as not.
Simply list your keywords, separated by commas.

The "Revisit" Tag Says "Ya'll Come Back, Now, Ya'll Hear?"

While not specifically a search engine optimization item,
the "revisit" tag may help provide more website traffic.
The "revisit" tag tells a search engine spider to return in
so many days to reindex the site. This can be of great
importance with a site that updates data regularly, but
might only get indexed by the search engines at longer
intervals.

I have heard and read that when some search engines revisit
a site, the site tends to rise in placement level. I have
not been able to find a definitive statement on this, but
have noticed a rise in visits to, and sales from, some of
my sites that seems to follow the cycle of reindexing.

Content Is King!

This statement has been around for a while. Though it
might be debated and there are certainly exceptions,
generally having a website full of valuable content is one
of the best ways to make search engines and people happy.
The search engines have something to sink their teeth into,
and can extract a lot more data from the content than you
possibly could tell them in the title and tags. I very
often find search engines sending visitors to my sites who
have searched on a term I never even thought of as a
keyword.

Many people write the content of their website and then try
to see where to stuff in the keywords. While this could
possibly fool the search engine, odds are it is going to
make the writing a little strange, and might help cause the
visitor to choose to visit, and do business with, a more
professional looking site. The simplest course is to
choose the website topic, title, description, and keywords
and then write heartfelt copy based on those items.

In fact, one very effective technique in preparing website
copy, particularly if you are writing it yourself, is to
deal in topics where you are knowledgeable and have a
passionate interest. An honest appeal from a true believer
can be a lot more effective in many cases than a
professionally designed and polished piece of advertising
copy. Writing heartfelt copy on a subject also will often
allow you to use the keyword or words without over using
them or appearing to strain.

One Last Note:

Whether you are dealing with the title, the description, or
the content, give thought to alternatives. For example;
earlier I concentrated on bicycle parts, but a small group
of people might actually be searching for bicycle
"accessories"! In fact, I just checked and learned that
while over 9,000 searches were done on one search engine
for the term "bicycle parts" in the month of October; over
5,000 other searches had been done for the term "bicycle
accessories" in the same period. Simply adding one term to
the mix could have helped "Bob's Bicycles" increase their
target market by half!

This article is not the final word on search engine
optimization. At best, it is merely an overview of areas
to be considered by the budding website designer or
internet business entrepreneur. As in most things, the art
of search engine optimization is an art, and sometimes
seems to border on black magic. For self-optimization,
never stop learning about this and the other topics related
to your goals and dreams.
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Donovan Baldwin is a Dallas area writer and network
marketing professional. He is a graduate of the University
of West Florida, a member of Mensa and is retired from the
U. S. Army. Learn how to get your own domain name and
create an internet business at http://donsdomains.ws .
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