What is Meta Data?

You may have heard of meta data or you may have not—but it is one of the most important aspects of your site when it comes to how search engines find and rank your site. Meta data is information about your website, or more precisely each of the web pages on your site, that is not part of the main body of the text. Meta data works behind the scenes to tell web crawlers and the search engines what your site is about, and because of this it is important for it to contain keywords to help your sites Search Engine Optimization.

The three main elements of meta data are the Page Title, Page Description, and Keywords.

Page Title
This is the most important piece of meta data and should be keyword phrases that accurately describe what your site is about, and a phrase that people are searching for. The Page title appears at the top of each of your web pages.

Page Description
The page description tells in only a few sentences what your website is about. It is important to use keywords here as well, while accurately and concisely describing your website. This is the information that appears when you do a search on a search engine under the results.

Keywords
Due to abuse, the keywords meta data is not as important as it once was when determining a websites search engine ranking. However, it is still used and listing keywords here can be of some benefit to your site.

HIT Web Design writers can help you find the keywords and write content for your site that can help improve your sites search engine rankings.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Utilizing Internet Directories

So you have a new site and you want to help people to find it. Internet directories are a great way to help generate links to your site as well as help search engines find your site easier.

Good PR
There are two kinds of Internet directories, ones that are human-edited and ones that are automated. Human-edited directories have a higher Google Page Rank (PR) and create better quality links to your website which can help increase your own sites PR. Having a good PR will help increase your search engine ranking. Automated directories tend to not have as good a PR. When choosing what Internet directories to submit your site to, make sure they have good PR.

There are free Internet directories as well as paid directories. Make sure you check out each one carefully, and remember more is not always better. The directories you choose to submit your site to need to be able to create quality links to your site. Paid directories can range in price from $30 to more than $80. The links they create can increase your sites Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Use Free Tools to Optimize Website Copy

Finding the right keywords to enhance your site's rankings in search engines is an essential factor in drawing traffic. But, you don't want to simply shoot in the dark when determining which keywords are best for your site. Fortunately, there are many tools out there to help you find out the words people are really using to search your industry. Here are two tools that can help you determine what keywords to consider when creating effective content for your pages:

Google AdWords: This is a powerful—and free—tool that utilizes Google's vast history of queries made in the last month. You can type in a keyword or phrase, and the tool will generate a list of the relating keywords that others have used. The tool includes data showing how commonly the word is used among competitors and how many queries using the keyword have been made in the past month. Check it out at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.

Wordtracker: This subscription service utilizes a database of hundreds of millions of keyword terms. Though you must pay for full access, it does provide a free keyword suggestion tool that lists the top 100 related keywords based on keywords you enter. To get more specific and advanced keyword data, you must subscribe. Check out the free tool at http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Quality Content Improves SEO, Search Engine Ranking

A key factor for any website seeking business traffic is visibility. Substantial, well-written copy is one of the most important factors to ensure your website is placed into top search engine results.

To get out in front of a large online audience, words matter. Poor wording can cause your website to be swallowed up in the vast sea of the World Wide Web. Those that stand out have learned to play by search engine rules, optimizing themselves to include what search engines like best.

Rule No. 1—Use quality content.

Search engines review and classify websites by reading their text. They look for keywords that have relevance to the words people type in to find something on the Internet. If you're a plumber in Phoenix, for example, you will definitely want to include the words “plumber” and “phoenix” on your site.

But, it's not that easy. Search engines have gotten wise to sites that simply use repeated, or spammed, keywords. Search engines now look at the text as a whole, factoring in the relevance and quality of the entire content as it relates to these keywords. So, including “plumber” and “phoenix” is important, but so is ensuring that these keywords, and other relating keywords, are placed strategically within well-written copy.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Creating Effective Forms

Forms are a great way to get information about your website's visitors. Too many sites have forms that are too long with too many questions, or ask seemingly unimportant questions and as a result do not get filled out. When using forms on your website make sure they are as effective as possible.
When deciding what information your form will gather, make a list of everything you would like to know about your potential customer. Then go through that list and determine which form fields are essential and which ones are not, and only use the essential questions on the form.

The form fields should also help in your business' marketing efforts. Use questions that can help you identify the demographics of your customer base, but again, only get the demographic information you really need. Asking for too much personal information may deter someone from filling out your form.

HIT Web Design can create custom forms for your site to help you gather the information you need to better serve your customers and increase revenue.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Using Pictures and Videos With Your Testimonials

Testimonials are a great way to help market your products and services on your web site. Testimonials can help inform and build trust in your potential customers. Testimonials can add to the credibility of your site, however, it is important to use real testimonials. Fake testimonials are easily spotted and can be very damaging to a site's credibility.

Using a picture of the person giving the testimonial can help a visitor to your site relate more to what is being said as well as give the testimonial more credibility. Your testimonials will be less likely to be assumed as phony when a picture and name is included with it.

Another way to make the testimonials on your site more credible and interactive is to include video testimonials. Having one of your satisfied customers record a video testimonial for your site will not only provide the words that can help persuade someone to use your services or buy your products, but you have the added benefit of body language. Excitement, appreciation, and satisfaction are conveyed much better through body language and through a persons actual voice than through the written word alone.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.