SEO Basics: Writing Optimized Titles and Descriptions

Page titles and meta descriptions are two critical aspects of on page SEO. Writing great titles and descriptions is part art and science. This presentation covers key considerations when crafting your own titles and descriptions.

Transcript

1. Search Engine Optimization Writing Optimized Titles and Descriptions 3.7designs.co / @37designs
2. What are we talking about? The HTML <title>Tag</title> ! and ! <meta name=“description” content=“Meta Description.”> 3.7designs.co / @37designs
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9. How to write an optimized title tag <title>Ann Arbor WordPress Meetup - WPA2</title> 3.7designs.co / @37designs
10. Rule #1. Don’t Spam Make sure your title makes sense to humans. Don’t stuff too many keywords in. ! Bad <title>WordPress Meetup, Meetups about WordPress, Tutorials, Lessons, Tips, WordPress.org, WordPress.com</title> ! Good <title>Meetup for Tips, Tutorials and Lessons about WordPress</title> 3.7designs.co / @37designs
11. Rule #2 Try and keep it short. Search engines only display 50 - 60 characters. The rest are cut off. You can add more, but they won’t be displayed. ! Bad <title>Come to our WordPress meetup for great tips, excellent tutorials and expert lessons. We meet every month and it’s free!</title> ! Good <title>Meetup for Tips, Tutorials and Lessons about WordPress</title> 3.7designs.co / @37designs
12. Rule #3 Leverage Branding Search engines measure brand awareness, use branded terms to increase click through rates. ! OK <title>Meetup for Tips, Tutorials and Lessons about WordPress</title> ! Better <title>Meetup for Tips, Tutorials and Lessons about WordPress - WordPress Ann Arbor</title> 3.7designs.co / @37designs
13. Rule #4 Focus Only target one or two key phrases (MAX) per title tag. Make sure the key phrase is related to the content on the page. ! OK <title>Meetup for Tips, Tutorials and Lessons about WordPress</title> ! Better Homepage: <title>WordPress Meetup in Ann Arbor - WordPress Ann Arbor</title> About: <title>WordPress Tutorials in Ann Arbor - WordPress Ann Arbor</title> Contact: <title>WordPress Lessons in Ann Arbor - WordPress Ann Arbor</title> 3.7designs.co / @37designs
14. Rule #4 Prioritize Unless you are a big brand, keep primary key phrases at the start of the title tag. ! OK <title>WordPress Ann Arbor - Meetup about WordPress</title> ! Better <title>Meetup about WordPress - WordPress Ann Arbor</title> 3.7designs.co / @37designs
15. How to write an optimized meta description <meta name=“description” content=“Here is my meta description!”> 3.7designs.co / @37designs
16. Rule #1. Don’t Spam Make sure your description makes sense to humans. Don’t stuff too many keywords in. ! Bad <meta name=“description” content=“WordPress,WordPress,learn WordPress,WordPress lessons,tips on WordPress,tutorials for WordPress”> ! Good <meta name=“description” content=“A meet up based in Ann Arbor for the WordPress platform. We provide free tutorials, tips and lessons.”> 3.7designs.co / @37designs
17. Rule #2 Try and keep it short. Search engines truncate descriptions longer than 160 characters. ! Bad <meta name=“description” content=“A meet up based in Ann Arbor for the WordPress platform. Come to our free event because we provide free tutorials, tips and lessons. Sometimes we have beer, and I like beer… you might like beer too.”> ! Good <meta name=“description” content=“A meet up based in Ann Arbor for the WordPress platform. We provide free tutorials, tips and lessons.”> 3.7designs.co / @37designs
18. Rule #3. Incorporate search terms. If a word a user searches for appears in your meta description it becomes bold, drawing more attention and increasing the likelihood of clicking. ! ! 3.7designs.co / @37designs
19. Rule #4 No description is better than duplicate descriptions. Duplicate descriptions are viewed as “duplicate content,” where if there is no description the Search Engines will find relevant content on the page and use it as a description. 3.7designs.co / @37designs
20. Thank You! Ooooh yeah… 3.7designs.co / @37designs