tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post1581476474437024973..comments2023-06-13T08:29:39.914+00:00Comments on MAKING A MARK: Keywords, site descriptions and meta tags - how search engines find your website and contentUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-69141767471003535492008-04-17T18:26:00.000+00:002008-04-17T18:26:00.000+00:00Thanks for that very useful contribution Caitlin.I...Thanks for that very useful contribution Caitlin.<BR/><BR/>I'm glad you put that extra comment at the end - I was just about to say I've already learned all that and try to implement it every day on my blog - which has made overhauling a website that much easier!Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-90997463286982526962008-04-17T18:21:00.000+00:002008-04-17T18:21:00.000+00:00Great article, Katherine - a really good start her...Great article, Katherine - a really good start here. Probably the most important point I can add to your article and S.G. Chipman's comments is that the things search engines (and especially Google) place the highest importance on is actually the content visible in your page.<BR/><BR/>HTML allows for clear, meaningful tagging of headings in the page using the H1, H2, etc. tags - search engines will look to the content in these tags (esp. H1 and then descending in order of importance through the numbers) when it's ranking your page. Headings being properly marked up (I know this isn't always controllable when using a content management system), being meaningful and the first paragraph of text on the page likewise are the things that will have the most affect on your page ranking. When reviewing a page, keep your keywords for that page handy and see if you can work your headings to include one or more keywords in there. Don't overdo it though! Remember that the search engine is also checking for meaning and your users also want something that's readable. But it's important to avoid using "cute" headings. If it doesn't fully convey the sense of the page or the section that follows, it needs reworking. Similarly with the first paragraph - keep it clear and descriptive of what content people are going to find on the page. Think about it this way: if you came to your page, not knowing anything about it, and all you were allowed to read was the first heading and the first paragraph, would you know what the page was about and would you want to read more? If the answer is "no", then some revising is needed :-)<BR/><BR/>Link text is also important both for search engines and to ensure your site is accessible to users who may be accessing your site using screen readers or other non-mainstream technologies (these two always go hand-in-hand because search engines can't "see" your page, only your code). Don't use generic links (e.g. "click here" or "read more") and instead use text which helps describe where the link is going. This helps because people using screen readers have an option to "scan" all the links in the page, which just reads out the text in the links (imagine: "click here", "click here", "click here"), and also because search engines do check this text when ranking the pages the links go to. It's nowhere near as important as headings and the first paragraph, but it does matter.<BR/><BR/>I could rabbit on about this all day (I wrote a paper on this for a large professional services firm a little while back) but shan't bore you any further. I hope this helps. And I should say, for others reading this post (well done for getting to the end, too - bravo!) that Katherine's headings and links are excellent examples of the right way to go about things!minimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14856827777365392968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-58419312712566608332008-02-28T11:13:00.000+00:002008-02-28T11:13:00.000+00:00I'm sure my blog fails miserably in many ways as I...I'm sure my blog fails miserably in many ways as I'm hopeless at these things but I do think if a blogger is going to a lot of trouble to get more visitors then they should at least spend more time on their site descriptions, so many are woeful. I have trouble putting pyseudonyms to blogs and I like to know at least which continent they live on. To them, they may be irrelevant or obvious but it should be an opportunity to give an overview of what the blog is about, like a welcome as you walk in the door not left like a stranger wondering what on earth is going on!Felicity Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11145205761346733464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-23030282686103752142008-02-26T18:22:00.000+00:002008-02-26T18:22:00.000+00:00Oh dear. Jaw dropping! I am definitely one of yo...Oh dear. Jaw dropping! I am definitely one of your encounters with 'someone who knows much less than you do about meta tags'. <BR/>This is a fantastic post, Katherine. When my head stops spinning I will attempt to pull my cyber socks up. <BR/>Yours ever gratefully...Robyn Sinclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01663604160297996421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-63266585921827160692008-02-26T16:26:00.000+00:002008-02-26T16:26:00.000+00:00a very helpful post Katherine for someone who has ...a very helpful post Katherine for someone who has a website in desperate need of pruning and tidying!<BR/><BR/><BR/>Thanksvivienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16820836660470146799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-90981999779534136302008-02-26T16:04:00.000+00:002008-02-26T16:04:00.000+00:00Thanks Tina - it's always good to get links to cou...Thanks Tina - it's always good to get links to courses that artists have done and can recommend as being relevant for and accessible by artists.<BR/><BR/>Every time I think I'm getting on top of something they go and change it! ;)Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-88615700472758575172008-02-26T15:57:00.000+00:002008-02-26T15:57:00.000+00:00I'm an advanced novice, if such a thing exists. ;)...I'm an advanced novice, if such a thing exists. ;) These things change and evolve so much that you're only "in the know" for a short while unless you keep up with the techie forums and things.<BR/><BR/>Can I recommend, highly recommend, a FREE <A HREF="http://www.gnc-web-creations.com/seo-optimization.htm" REL="nofollow">search engine optimization course via a Yahoo group</A>. It's intense and you will have to do work to identify you niches, right keywords and all, but it's run by an expert and well worth it. Very general business oriented so artists will have to think a bit laterally. (She also has an e-book of it all if you're too impatient for the online class!)Tina Mammoserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18407199513409994699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-15837677877666758562008-02-26T15:51:00.000+00:002008-02-26T15:51:00.000+00:00Thanks. I edit the html all the time - but very r...Thanks. I edit the html all the time - but very rarely alter the the image html. I was trying to alter the image for the one posted yesterday, which you used in your example, but it didn't work. I'll have to see if I can work out why not.<BR/><BR/>I agree - an alt image caption as part of the upload image screen would be very helpfulMaking A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-25216947046780859312008-02-26T15:45:00.000+00:002008-02-26T15:45:00.000+00:00It looks like you'll have to modify the markup (by...It looks like you'll have to modify the markup (by clicking on the "Edit HTML" tab) and add the value of the alt attribute yourself. Handily, the attribute itself is already there, its just lacks a value.<BR/><BR/>View the source of <A HREF="http://sgchipman.blogspot.com/2008/02/testing-alt-attribute-with-blogger.html" REL="nofollow">my test blog</A> to see that it does take, you just have to do it by hand.<BR/><BR/>I'd recommend petitioning Google/Blogger to add support for the addition of alt and title attributes in their image uploader, especially if you're uncomfortable with editing markup.S.G. Chipmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05608467511552082728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-59064389529627996262008-02-26T15:22:00.000+00:002008-02-26T15:22:00.000+00:00Well I've tried it and Blogger doesn't seem to lik...Well I've tried it and Blogger doesn't seem to like it at all.<BR/><BR/>Anybody got a more detailed reference which works with Blogger coding?Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-81515557814820928222008-02-26T14:34:00.000+00:002008-02-26T14:34:00.000+00:00I just tried the keyword tool and used the website...I just tried the keyword tool and used the website content option. It returned a long list from which I could select the keywords I wanted to use.<BR/><BR/>After selecting words applicable to my website, Google put them in a list I could download as a text file, free of charge. I now have a handy-dandy list to use to update my meta tags and keywords.<BR/><BR/>Thanks Katherine!Lisa B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13696004492341593604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-41379888473099338862008-02-26T14:15:00.000+00:002008-02-26T14:15:00.000+00:00Thanks - I told you I was only an 'advanced novice...Thanks - I told you I was only an 'advanced novice'!<BR/><BR/>Although I knew that including information like that was a good idea it's not actually what's shown up in the alt attribute at present - so I need to find out how to do that in blogger.<BR/><BR/>So I guess I need to go and view this video by Matt Cutts, the head of Google's webspam team? It's all about <A HREF="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2007/12/using-alt-attributes-smartly.html" REL="nofollow">Using al attributes smartly</A>Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-82055631028313362012008-02-26T14:06:00.000+00:002008-02-26T14:06:00.000+00:00"As you can imagine lots of images with esoteric /..."As you can imagine lots of images with esoteric / punter friendly titles and very little if any other text on a page might have a problem presenting enough data for the search engines spiders and index software."<BR/><BR/>This is precisely what the alt attribute on the img element is for. This attribute allows you to describe the image and is responsible to the text you'll see in modern browsers when an image fails to load (provided the site author has provided for it). It is also what screen reader software speaks aloud to users of such technologies.<BR/><BR/>An example:<BR/><img src="web_Pink-petals#2.jpg" <B>alt="A colored pencil drawing entitled Pink Petals. Colored Pencil on Arches Hot Press, 6 x 6" © Katherine Tyrrell"</B> /><BR/><BR/>I've left out the additional attributes on the image in the example (width, height, etc) for brevity. Obviously, the more descriptive you get with the alternate content the better.S.G. Chipmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05608467511552082728noreply@blogger.com