Metadata tags - normally located at the top of your HTML page - contain information about your website that is invisible to the user. The DESCRIPTION tag provides a description of what that page is about – this tag remains an important indexing variable for the search engines.
Indeed, whilst the text might not be visible on your own website, some search engines display the DESCRIPTION tag in their search engine results pages (SERPs), so it’s important that this tag exists and contains a good description of the web page.
Some tips:
- Make sure that every page has a unique DESCRIPTION tag, written specifically for that page.
- The tag should be about 140 characters or 20 words in length
- Include keywords in the tag – but don’t repeat terms more than twice
- Use the DESCRIPTION tag to offer keyword variations (eg. if you run a jewellery website, you might include the American spelling of jewelry in the tag) as the tag is not visible to the user – but remember it can often be found in the search engine listing for your site).
A successful website requires constant oversight. It’s important that your site is checked regularly to ensure that it is performing optimally. If you just ‘let your site go’, then it’s likely that the site will come undone over time. A regular ‘health check’ – preferably weekly - will keep your site on track.
I often come across websites on the internet that have the same page title for every page on the site. In effect, these sites are telling Google and the other search engines that every page is about the same topic, even though every page is different. Bad move.
