Source:etrafficjams.com

As a follow-up to our post on the Meta keywords tag, we are going to focus on the Meta description tag - including why you should use it and how to get the most out of it.

The Meta description tag ranks higher than the keywords tag in terms of importance. Google and other search engines such as Yahoo and MSN use this tag as the default site description for your search listing in the event that:

• your site is not listed in Open Directory (for Google)
• you have no other legible text on the page (e.g., your page is in Flash, frames or primarily comprised of images)
• You have very little content aside from navigation links, privacy information and/or minimal on-page copy

As with the Meta keywords tag, the Meta description tag provides another opportunity for you to add relevancy to a specific page. We touched on this briefly with, “Are Meta Tags Important,” posted last Tuesday. Here is an example of what can happen if you do not take advantage of this rare opportunity to “control” how your listing appears in the search results.

If you do a search for “toy store” in Google, you’ll see many listings for top toy stores, but FAO Schwarz appears on page 6 of the results with this title and description:

Extraordinary toys, gifts and collectibles at FAO Schwarz
“Home · My Account · Customer Service · Our History · Store Info · www.fao.com · Shopping Cart · Gift Finder · View Print Catalog …”

The text in quotes, above, is what Google is showing as FAO Schwarz site description. Fixing the description tag of their home page will not only attract more visitors to the site, but it will probably help F.A.O. Schwarz move up the ranks in Google. Adding the term “toy store” somewhere on their home page is also recommended (but only if they want to rank higher for this term, of course).

It’s possible that F.A.O. Schwarz wants to target more specific terms (e.g., “dollhouse” or “stuffed bunny”). Still, if all your competitors are on page one of Google for a specific term, chances are you should be there too.

Proper syntax in the Meta description tag is important. Here are some guidelines to follow.

• The Meta description tag should not be too long - no more than 250 characters
• Put your most important (relevant) keywords at the front of the string - business name should be at the end or incorporated naturally into the description.

  Here is an example:

  (meta name=”Description” content=”Search engine optimization and website marketing company eTrafficJams.com, specializes in white hat organic search engine optimization and placement services to increase targeted website traffic, search engine placement and sales.”)

• As with the keywords tag, the description tag should be placed at the top of the page with ideal placement just below the “Title” tag.
• The description tag should be customized to match the content on the page. Whenever possible, restate the Title tag and/or reinforce actual content that is on the page.

The Meta keywords and description tags are a strong team when used together. Keep them relevant, keep them simple, keep them customized - happy optimizing!