December, 2004

How to Write and Use Description Tags on Your Web Pages

By Donald Nelson
Copyright, 2004

Many people are afraid to write the meta tags for their websites,
thinking that they would have to be search engine optimization
specialists in order to do it properly. While you may not have
any special expertise in the field of search engine optimization,
you should be an expert in your own business's area of activity,
and if you combine this knowledge with some simple guidelines you
can write accurate meta tags.  Let us see how to write one of the
most important meta tags, the description tag.

The description tag is one of the "big three" meta tags, which
also include the title tag, and the keywords tag. These three
meta tags along with other tags are located in the html code of
your website between the sections marked <head> and </head>.
While this information is not seen on your web page when someone
views your site with a browser, the head section is read by the
search engine "robots" and helps the search engines to
"understand" what your web page is all about.

Writing the description tag is a good exercise because it will
force you to become clear about what you are doing and what you
are offering to your viewers. A description tag is in fact like a
short mission statement, explaining your enterprise in a
nutshell. If someone wakes you in the middle of the night and
asks you what your website or your business is all about, you
should be able to answer with a concise two or three sentence
description without any hesitation.

Here is step-by-step guide to creating and using effective
description tags:

  1. Write like a journalist. Mention the important W's, such as
    who, what, where, when, why. In a description tag, the "what" is
    the most important element. What do you do? What do you sell?
    Where do you do it? What is this page all about? Describe what
    you do in a simple sentence and be sure to incorporate the words
    and phrases which are most likely to be used when people search
    for your product or service.

    Suppose your business is the Kenosha Wisconsin Window Cleaning
    Company.  A description tag for your main page might start off
    like this:  The Kenosha Wisconsin Window Cleaning Company
    provides window cleaning services for residences and businesses
    in the greater Kenosha, Wisconsin area.

  2. Include your Unique Selling Proposition or USP: The USP is
    actually the "why" of the classic "who, what, where and why"
    formula. Why should someone use your service and not someone
    else's? The USP is what sets you apart from the others.

    Remember when someone makes a query in a search engine yours will
    not be the only site that comes up. Your competitors will also be
    there, and they will offer similar products or services. In many
    search engines the description tag or part of the description tag
    is displayed in the search results. If your description tag
    provides some distinctive information, conveying a unique benefit
    that you provide, then the likelihood that a searcher will click
    through to your site will increase.

    Let's go back to the example of the Kenosha Window Cleaning site
    and add the USP to the description. The first lines of the
    description read: "The Kenosha Wisconsin Window Cleaning Company
    provides window cleaning services for residences and businesses
    in the greater Kenosha, Wisconsin area." Another sentence saying
    "We guarantee a great job every time at a price you can afford,"
    could be added to give more detail about the quality, guarantee
    and the affordability of the service.

  3. Put this description in the meta tag section of the head and
    in the text of the page itself.

    You've just taken some time to explain what your web page is all
    about, and have included some compelling reason why someone
    should buy your product or service. Don't hide this information
    in a place where your readers cannot see it. If you only put the
    description in the meta tag section, then the search engine
    robots will see it but many of your visitors will not.

    Rather, use your description as part of your first paragraph or
    even as part of your opening headline.  Your description contains
    your important key phrase and key words.  If you place it in the
    opening paragraph or somewhere on your page, then the search
    engine optimization value of the description is doubled or even
    tripled. A big mistake in search engine optimization is to use
    meta tags, but then have no descriptive text on the page, relying
    on images to convey the message. Use the description tag to begin
    your text, and add some more to amplify it and expand on what you
    have written.

  4. Write a distinct description tag for each of your pages,
    focusing on the unique content and purpose of that particular
    page.

    Another big mistake on many websites is to use the same meta tags
    on all the pages. Each of your pages is different. Each page has
    or should have a special item of importance. Look at your pages
    and think of the special part that the page plays in your overall
    marketing effort, and make a unique description tag. As with the
    description tag for your main page, put this description within
    the text of the page itself.

Even if you get a professional search engine optimization service
to write the main meta tags for your site, you can put this
knowledge into practice whenever you add new pages to your site.
Good description tags will help your site to be found in search
engine queries, and when used as part of the main text of your
pages will also help your web visitors to quickly understand your
most important marketing messages.bd14582_.gif (185 bytes)

About the Author:

Donald Nelson is a Search Engine Optimization expert and owner of A1-Search Engine Optimization ( http://www.a1-optimization.com )

SEO Resources:

The SEO Book: (by Aaron Wall) Author Aaron Wall takes you from A to Z on a journey to understand the basics of Search Engine Optimization. No hype, just honest and effective advice. This eBook comes with free updates for life. Highly recommended.

The Nitty Gritty of Search Engine Optimization (by Jill Whalen) This special report in ebook form is probably the most thorough guide on how to write for the search engines. Making sure that your main keywords are well represented in your page copy without sacrificing readibility is not always easy, but this special report shows you how to do it.

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