Implementing Keywords Into a Website
Now you have compiled a list of keywords to use, you need to integrate them into your site. Not all search engines will read all of these tags, and some indexing algorithms place more emphasis on specific tags. No one except the algorithm authors know exactly how they work, so it is good practice to use all of the techniques described below.
Title tag
The title tags appear in the HEAD section of the page code and the title is displayed in the title bar of the browser window when the site is viewed. The title tags appear as the name of the website in search results, and is often where you need to make your first impression. The title is a good place to display your company name and a few relevant keywords. You can also add locality descriptors to let your visitors know where your business is located. An example of a title tag:
<HEAD>
<TITLE> Dress shoes, sneakers, runners, sandals and much more - John's Fine Shoes, Australia </TITLE>
</HEAD>
<TITLE> Dress shoes, sneakers, runners, sandals and much more - John's Fine Shoes, Australia </TITLE>
</HEAD>
The title tag should be slightly different for each page, reflecting the content for that particular page. For example, the shoe store may have a different page for running shoes, so the title tag may change to:
<HEAD>
<TITLE> Running and athletic shoes - John's Fine Shoes, Australia </TITLE>
</HEAD>
<TITLE> Running and athletic shoes - John's Fine Shoes, Australia </TITLE>
</HEAD>
A bad example of a title tag is shown below. The title does not explain where the company is located or what type of shoes it sells.
<HEAD>
<TITLE> Johns shoes home page </TITLE>
</HEAD>
<TITLE> Johns shoes home page </TITLE>
</HEAD>
Description tag
The description tag appears in the HEAD section of each page's code. The description tag should be used to expand on the title, as the text in this tag often appears as the description of the website in search results. For example:
<HEAD>
<TITLE> John's Fine Shoes Australia - dress shoes, sneakers, runners, sandals and much more </TITLE>
<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="John's Fine Shoes stock all types of shoes from running shoes to dress shoes, in large range of sizes. You can even order online">
</HEAD>
<TITLE> John's Fine Shoes Australia - dress shoes, sneakers, runners, sandals and much more </TITLE>
<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="John's Fine Shoes stock all types of shoes from running shoes to dress shoes, in large range of sizes. You can even order online">
</HEAD>
Generally 250 characters is sufficient for the description as most search engines display only a short part of the description.
Keyword tag
The keyword tag appears in the HEAD section of each page, and contains a list of keywords and phrases that are relevant to your site. The keyword tag used to be a highly influential tag used by search engines to index websites, however due to abuse by search engine spammers adding irrelevant repeated keywords, the tag now carries less influence.
Adding irrelevant keywords may attract more traffic to your site, however it's likely to be untargeted traffic and the visitors probably wont be interested in your site anyway. The keywords in the META tag should be separated by commas, NOT spaces, and keywords should not be repeated. A list of 8-12 keywords or phrases is generally considered sufficient. The keyword tag should be different for each webpage.
<HEAD>
<TITLE> John's Fine Shoes Australia - dress shoes, sneakers, runners, sandals and much more </TITLE>
<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="John's Fine Shoes stock all types of shoes from running shoes to dress shoes, in large range of sizes. You can even order online">
<META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="shoes, boots, running, nike, athletic, netball, womens, mens, kids, basketball, Jordan, buy online">
</HEAD>
<TITLE> John's Fine Shoes Australia - dress shoes, sneakers, runners, sandals and much more </TITLE>
<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="John's Fine Shoes stock all types of shoes from running shoes to dress shoes, in large range of sizes. You can even order online">
<META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="shoes, boots, running, nike, athletic, netball, womens, mens, kids, basketball, Jordan, buy online">
</HEAD>
Link text
Link tags, also known as Anchors, are usually found many times throughout websites between the BODY tags. The description text used for the link should ideally contain any relevant keywords, and describe the purpose or destination of the link. For example:
<A HREF="nikeshoes.htm">Our new range of Nike running shoes</A>
<A HREF="http://www.nike.com">The official Nike website</A>
<A HREF="http://www.nike.com">The official Nike website</A>
rather than
Click <A HREF="nikeshoes.htm">here</A> to see our new range of nike running shoes.
<A HREF="http://www.nike.com">http://www.nike.com</A>
<A HREF="http://www.nike.com">http://www.nike.com</A>
Images
Alt tags are used in conjunction with image tags <IMG> to provide a textual description of the image. The alt tag is useful for the visually impaired visitors who are using software to read out the page contents, and for people who have images turned off in their browser. All image tags should have an alt section. For example:
<IMG SRC="/images/leatherboots.jpg" alt="Black leather ankle high boots">
However do not create images solely for the purpose of adding alt tags unless the images add value to your website. The technique of creating 1 x 1 pixel images with alt tags stuffed with keywords is regarded as spamming by some search engines, and is not recommended.
Headings
Heading tags such as <H1> <H2> etc. are often given extra standing by search engines. The heading tag should contain one or two important keywords. For example:
<H1>Running and Athletic shoes </H1>
Text
The text on the webpage should contain sentences and paragraphs that integrate the keywords in a logical manner. To test the text for readability, read it out aloud, ensuring that it makes sense and is relevant to your visitors. The sentences should flow naturally and provide visitors with useful information about your products or services.
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