How to write a good meta description tag
The meta description is a special tag placed within the source code of your webpages. It’s used by search engines and directories to help understand what your page is about.
Sometimes, they’re also used as your “snippet” on the search engine results page.
The tag, placed between the <head> and </head> section, looks like this:
<meta name=”description” content=”your content here”>
As suggested by Google’s Webmaster Central Blog, here are the best practices about using meta descriptions:
- Each page of your website should have a unique meta description
- It should contain a factual statement about the content on the page, not already mentioned in the page title
- The description should be easy to read
Here is the actual meta description from this article, which supports the promise made in the page’s title:
<title>How to write a good meta description tag | FIND the CLIENT</title>
<meta name=”description” content=”Short article on how to write this important HTML code, and why writing good meta descriptions are worth the extra effort.”>
Well-written meta descriptions are preferred because they give users a clear idea of the page’s content. It’s important to note that while good meta descriptions can improve click through on the search engine results page, they don’t affect your natural rankings.
Your meta descriptions do not have to be solely in sentence format – it’s OK to follow a clearly defined formula listing data about the page. For example, a website about books could include the title of the book as the page title, and a description about the content of the book:
<title>Playing For Pizza: A Novel</title>
<meta name=”description” content=”Author: John Grisham, Publisher: Doubleday, Category: Fiction, Price: $21.95, Pages: 272″>
Your meta descriptions need to be descriptive. Even though they’re not displayed to a user when viewing your webpage, they’re important enough to spend a few extra minutes on. They could help improve the quality of your snippet — leading to more and better user traffic to your webpage.
Photo credit by svilen001.
Pay-Per-Click vs. Search Engine Optimization
There are few websites online today that don’t crave more attention from search engines, more views and purchases from customers, and more inbound links from other sites. However, getting to the point of online rock stardom takes more than simply wishing your way to the top. It often takes a ton of work optimizing pages, a few dollars spent on advertising, and an ounce of good luck to seal the deal. Two very different approaches – Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising and organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO), have been known to produce favorable results in increasing a website’s visibility, but the key to success online is in understanding and taking advantage of the strengths and weaknesses of both.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of following best practices in order to gain better position in a search engine for one or more keywords or phrases. With SEO, visitors use a search engine to find sites that are relevant to the keywords and phases they provide. The most common search engines used today (Yahoo!, Google and MSN) are relied on by over 90% of web users to find what they are looking for online, but most only view the top 30 results produced by search engines. These factors make getting to the top of a search engine’s results for specific keywords an absolute online necessity for websites.
Search Engine Optimization has several advantages which make it appealing to those looking to be online for the long run. Its most noted advantage is that, when using sound practices, its results are realized for the long term. Another major advantage of organic SEO comes in its cost, which ranges from free to minimal as the only costs incurred, if any, are those paid to make website changes. SEO methods that focus its keywords on the products, service and information provided by the website also have a better chance of delivering repeat visitors and customers that are ready to act.
Organic search engine optimization has two clear disadvantages, which are always outweighed by the advantages SEO methods provide. The first disadvantage is that SEO takes time – time in constructing pages to appeal to search engines; time for the search engines to find, index and “trust” the pages; and time to realize the positive ROI between customers and efforts spent. This disadvantage is usually minimal to those looking to be online for the long term. The final disadvantage with organic search engine optimization is that it does not deliver guarantees, especially for websites with lots of competition online. Keeping in mind that each website has the opportunity to “optimize” their pages as well should put the chances of success through SEO in perspective.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Both new websites and those finding it difficult to get their fair shake in the top of the search engines, may opt for Pay-Per-Click advertising to increase their visibility online. In short, Pay-Per-Click advertising allows you to select, bid, and pay for keywords that are relevant to your website’s offerings. In exchange, the Pay-Per-Click program offers a website guaranteed visibility when a searcher enters in the chosen keyword and when the searcher is on a website that is related to the keyword.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising guarantees that websites are put in the eyes of their chosen target audiences. When properly managed, the pay-per-click advertising costs can often times be recouped through the increase in sales that are driven to the website. In addition, the flexibility in keyword selection, the precise management of campaigns, the instant feedback provided, and the ability to budget spending make PPC appealing to most companies that do not appear in top search results.
There are several disadvantages to pay-per-click advertising which can be reduced or even eliminated with proactive PPC campaign management. One major disadvantage results from the bidding nature of PPC programs, which tend to list the highest bidder for a keyword ahead of lower bidders. This “bidding war” forces the lower bidder to increase their bid in order to regain position, and can squeeze out companies with smaller marketing budgets. Another disadvantage to PPC advertising comes in the improper selection of keywords which results in bidders paying for visitors that are simply “window shopping”, and have no intention of buying products. The final disadvantage to PPC advertising is the most obvious and the most painful – once the payments for keywords stop, so does the website’s visibility.
Which Method Is Best?
Websites with little or no visibility can easily change their circumstances by using Pay-Per-Click advertising to instantly gain web presence. And although the guaranteed visibility comes at a cost, those just starting out on the web can often time recoup their expenses through the building of repeat customers, word of mouth referrals and increased traffic flow. Also, keep in mind that paying to be in front of visitors has major disadvantages that good SEO should eliminate over time. So, our suggestion is to always use Pay-Per-Click advertising to get into the face of web surfers in the early stages of a website’s growth, but to also implement the techniques of Search Engine Optimization which will provide the website with long-term staying power. Used in conjunction with each other, your website will realize both immediate and long-term success on the web.
Photo credit by svilen001.
Simple Ways to Provide Great Client Service
Providing good service is often the fastest, least expensive way to make more revenues for your firm. Start by satisfying your clients before they even walk in the door, such as returning phone calls quickly, and really listening to their concerns. Often, lawyers are so busy they may miss huge opportunities (and referrals) without even knowing about them by not returning calls.
Another way to provide good service is to empower your staff to make decisions and reward them for good choices. This is often hard for lawyers or other professionals, who often have difficulty delegating tasks and incorrectly believe they are the only ones capable of making business decisions. But empowerment won’t bring down the business; it actually boosts job satisfaction, keeps turnover low and breeds loyalty. All of which equates to better client service, more revenues and more time for you to develop business and build on your competitive advantage.
What happens if you’ve really, really ruffled some feathers? It happens. Most attorneys just ignore problems, letting voicemail or worse, their assistants handle the brunt of client complaints. Instead, let your clients vent, directly to you. Even encourage them to do it. Imagine you are the one with the concern, and treat them how you’d expect to be treated. This could turn an ugly complaint (which, gasp, could even be posted online as a negative review!) into an opportunity to really hear someone out, and improve your service.
An interesting way to provide great client service is to show, don’t tell. Consider making social responsibility part of your client messaging. Many clients like to see and know what causes are important to you. So, consider posting information about your involvement on your website, and including it in client literature. Even better, involve your clients too. For example, if you’re collecting or donating food to a local homeless shelter, consider putting a box in your office, and ask your clients to contribute. Client loyalty increases when they see involvement with a good cause.
Great client service doesn’t happen by pushing a button. Review your current office policies, and consider implementing the above suggestions. I’m confident they will make an impact.
The Easy Button can be found at Staples.
My Two-Month Plan for Better Social Marketing
Dale Carnegie once said “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” So I’m taking this quote as a challenge to myself to become more social, and more interested in, those of you following me on Twitter, reading this blog or visiting me on Facebook. This goes beyond just “liking” someone’s status on Facebook, and doing something more meaningful than only re-tweeting on Twitter. I’m active in a number of locations, and here are the action steps I plan to take for each:
Twitter
How do you cultivate relationships in 140 characters or less? Not sure it can be done, but I’m going to focus more on @ replies and direct messages with new and existing followers. Second, to create more fun and interaction, I’m going to add polls, quotes and other things of interest more frequently. I don’t have the biggest following, but of the people I follow who do, it’s an endless barrage of self-promotion, MLM offers and the like. I’d rather tweet the same interesting post 3-4 times a day than blast out marketing messages. Third, and maybe this should have been first, I’m going to focus on Twitter lists targeting my geographic area, monitoring for tweet-ups and participating in real world networking. It’s much easier to connect with someone when you meet face to face.
Facebook
Right now, my blog posts automatically feed to Facebook, and I’ve installed the Selective Tweets application so I can tag choice tweets to appear on Facebook. This passive approach hasn’t created much interaction, other than lots of “likes” on my posts. Instead, I plan to offer exclusive material to my Facebook fans. Also, and being really careful not to abuse, send messages and content to them directly via the messaging center on the fan page. An ideal outcome would be a combined tweet-up and Facebook meet-up in the Lehigh Valley (where I live).
LinkedIn
I used to feed my Tweets directly to LinkedIn as status updates, until a close friend told me he couldn’t keep up with me anymore. If he felt that way, I imagine many others did as well. So I’ve changed the application to only accept tweets with the #in hashtag. This way, I can be much more selective, and when linking to a recent article or post I’ve written, can leave it on LinkedIn as a status update for a day or so to get maximum viewership. Going beyond a commitment to write more recommendations, I plan to answer more questions and be more than a lurker on the groups I belong to. Finally, instead of waiting for an introduction, I’m going to turn the tables and introduce people to my network.
Blogging
This goes beyond my own blog, and maybe should be labeled “commenting on blogs”. Every blogger out there, regardless of fame or perceived fame, is driven hugely by their ego. I’ve always wondered who’s reading my blog, and the only proof I have, beyond what Google Analytics tells me, are the comments made. I can assure you, I will read each and every comment that comes in. Even some of the ones Askimet marks as spam. I’d venture to guess other bloggers do the same thing. So, I’ve reached a simple conclusion — the best way to engage with someone is to leave thoughtful, meaningful comments on his or her blog. It’s also proof you’re reading the material, and regular comments on blogs are a sure sign you value and appreciate the writer’s hard work. I doubt this will go unnoticed. If you have only limited time in your day for social marketing, I’d focus 95% of my efforts on entering thoughtful comments on blogs. It’s that powerful.
So there you have my two month plan. Lots of writing, reading and typing. Buying coffee for fans and friends who want to meet in real life. And truly enjoying social marketing. Will you join me?
Photo credit by eduardtrag.
Four Ways Your Website Helps Automate and Expand Your Business
Every day, tens of millions of searches are conducted online by people looking for local service providers. How many potential customers are you missing by not having a web presence? Having a website today is not only “hip,” it’s mandatory. Companies with websites are in control of a resource that works non-stop, providing customer service, processing orders and gathering information.
The problem? Most businesses never reach their full potential because they fail to realize that websites are employees – employees that work to gather leads 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The sooner you realize this, the closer you’ll be to reaching a new level of success; one that comes from possessing a global presence, a constantly networking and marketing tool, and a full-service establishment that serves your customers and potential clients effectively all day, every day.
Used properly, a website will change your online destiny and heighten your understanding of what your clients expect from you as a professional company, and, scary to say, what many of your competitors could well already know: websites have an enormous amount of power, both online and offline.
Your task is to harness this power in a way that works for you, and it starts by changing your mindset on what a website is, and why you either need one, or need to proactively put the one you already have to work. Consider this: radio took 37 years to get 50 million listeners. TV took 15. The Internet did it in less than 3 years. In today’s ultra-competitive economy, a website is your way of being heard.
First, your website acts as a customer service representative. Websites can provide customer service for your company like no other employee on your payroll. What other employee do you have that works non-stop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, for year after year after year? So leverage your website for what it’s great at: providing useful information about your business, such as your services and procedures. Recent news about your company or industry that may interest potential customers also can be posted to your website and updated regularly. Your website can and should provide unparalleled customer service on your behalf.
Second, your website acts as a public relations manager. Websites communicate who you are and help you connect with potential customers. Regardless of whether you’re locally famous or not, your website can make you known globally. By providing clear definitions, information and articles in simple terms everyday people understand, your website can make you more money and attract new customers. Not to mention the potential for making a more personal connection with people by including online professional biographies. A website thrives on attention, and when others reference it, link to it, and love it for providing what they’ve been desperately searching for, it shines brighter than ever, attracting yet more attention. By using your website and the knowledge you currently posses, you can become “the” expert who not only understands your own business, but how to communicate that understanding into the practical, hard-and-fast information surfers seek out.
Third, your website acts as a document provider. Websites can make the lives of your customers and staff easier. Ever faxed or mailed a form to a customer that they could easily have filled out online? Allowing your website to provide forms, general paperwork and documents with your company letterhead already in place saves everyone time and money. Your administrative staff will thank you, too, when you use your website to reduce both unnecessary office traffic and time spent needlessly explaining general documents. Do your clients and yourself a favor by providing forms, general paperwork and documents online.
Fourth, your website acts as an intelligence-gathering tool. We would all like to know what our customers are expecting from us before they say it, and there is absolutely no better way to have this knowledge in-hand than to allow your website to perform a bit of intelligence-gathering on behalf of your business. In this manner, your website is able to gather information and provide you with powerful insight that will improve all aspects of your business – both online and offline. Through feedback forms, website analytics and surveys, your website can be your company’s perpetual covert intelligence agent, working around the clock to help you get to know your clients so you can better communicate with them.
Essentially, the costs associated with creating, maintaining and distributing a website are minimal compared to the ROI your company will receive. Where else can you find a single, consistent medium to provide your company with ongoing customer service, public relations, document delivery, and intelligence gathering, which is not only accurate, but also complete?
With your website working for you fulltime, your company can level the playing field with larger competitors. A valid website will expose you and your company to global markets, while complementing the work you are already performing offline. By tapping the power of your website, you have hired an employee that never needs to be fired and that works just as hard as you do.
FIND the CLIENT helps talented and passionate professional service providers – attorneys, lawyers, architects, cosmetic dentists, chiropractors, accountants and the like – find and attract more clients, and win more new business.
If you have found the information on this blog useful, and are serious about profitably growing and improving your practice, please visit our client development consulting page and contact us today.
