More SEO Part III: Tags

June 19th, 2009

by John R. Sedivy

This article concludes the series on SEO and will address tags, specifically title and description tags. In short, tags, also referred to as HTML elements are designations that allow for your information to be arranged by order of importance within the HTML language. HTML, or hypertext mark-up language is the programming language used for the development of web pages. The term tag when used in this context should not be confused with “hashtags” which are non-hierarchical in nature and are also referred to as “keywords.” For more on keywords refer to my article titled “More SEO Part II: Keywords.”

You have probably guessed it by now – the two most important tags are the title and description tags when concerned with search engines both of which I will discuss in great detail.

The Title Tag
Most important to search engines, if possible it is ideal to place a keyword within the “Title” tag. It should also appear at the top of the page, or as close to the top as possible. An interesting aspect which I did not know about was that the title tag, or title of your article should ideally be 40 to 60 characters to include spaces.

The Description Tag
This tag is of secondary importance and is really just a general description of the specific content or article. It should be placed right after the title tag. The “All In One SEO Pack” recommends a maximum length of 160 characters. I will discuss the SEO pack further in the next section.

SEO Pack
While reading “Search Engine Optimization For Dummies” which this article is based, there was a lengthy discussion on placement of the “title” and “description” tags within the HTML code. I briefly touched upon that here, but thought it appropriate to discuss the “All-In-One SEO Pack” plugin for WordPress again. The great part about this plugin is that it addresses a good deal of your SEO needs without having to actually muck around in the HTML code itself. It basically automates repetitive tasks such as placement of tags – all that is required of you is to enter the specific information yourself within the fields. I will provide a brief demonstration here:

1. Enter the “Title” tag as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Title Tag

Figure 1. Title Tag

2. Enter the “Description” tag as shown below in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Description Tag

Figure 2. Description Tag

I highly recommend this plugin, as it simplifies much of the basic work associated with SEO. For more information on the All-In-One SEO Pack for WordPress as well as where to download this plugin, read Amy’s article called “All In One SEO Pack for WordPress”.

Proper title and description tags, as well as the location of these tags are important for effective SEO!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding