Using
the Meta Description tag
By
Yelena Shapiro with Etelka Lehoczky
What
is the meta description tag and why should I use it?
The
meta description tag describes your site's content, giving
search engines' spiders an accurate summary filled with multiple
keywords.
Note: Meta tags are hidden in a document's source, invisible
to the reader. Some search engines, however, are able to incorporate
the content of meta tags into their algorithms. No engines penalize
sites that use meta tags properly, so it's recommended that you
always include them.
The meta description tag is especially important because
it's the only tag supported by some engines, such as Excite.
Here's
an example of a meta description tag:
<html>
<head>
<meta name="description" content="Your site's
summary here">
</head>
</html>
The
meta description tag and search engines
A
meta description tag can boost your rankings on some engines.
Another reason the meta description tag is important is that
some engines use it as a site's summary on their results pages.
If they do, the reader may actually see this hidden tag.
Make sure its contents are enticing to the reader.
Keywords
in the meta description tag
The
meta description tag should contain multiple keywords organized
in a logical sentence. Place the keywords at the beginning of
your description and close to each other to achieve the best
possible rankings.
The
length of the meta description tag
Search
engines vary in their preferred size for meta tags. The iWon
search engine, or Canada.com, accepts a meta description tag
up to 250 characters long, while HotBot specifies 150 characters
as its guideline. Try to use the smaller number, 150 characters,
for your site. Never make your meta tag more than 250 characters
long because some results pages will cut it off.
Avoid
spam
Avoid
repeating keywords more than 3-7 times in your meta description.
Some search engines consider it to be spam.
An
overview
The
meta description tag
Use the meta description tag on all pages
Limit it to 150 characters
Include keywords
Don't repeat keywords more than 7 times
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