Performing basic SEO tasks on a website that was not built using a CMS (content management system) may require some basic HTML knowledge. Outlined below are basic guidelines for creating and writing some common tags that are needed on a website.
Title Tag Optimization
- The title tag should be the first tag in the <head> </head> section of the code. Each page should have only 1 title tag. Code Sample Below:
<head>
<title>Example Title | Company or Brand Name</title>
</head>
- Optimal Title Tag Format:
Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name
- Capitalize all words in the title except for trivial words such as “a”, “in”, etc.
- Avoid the use of stop words that don’t convey much information (such as ‘”a”, “in”, etc. ) in the title
- Try to keep the title tag to a max of 60 characters (insignificant words can get cut off, but keywords never should)
- Each page needs a unique title tag using different keyword phrases.
Description Tag Optimization
- The description tag should be placed below the Title tag in the <head> </head> section each page.
- If a description tag if one is not already on the site. Below is a basic code sample:
<meta name=”description” content=”This is an example of a meta description. This will often show up in search results.”>
- Use the keywords identified for the title tag to write a compelling description that will cause the searcher to take action. Use basic punctuation in the description – apostrophes, period, commas, etc. Words such as “and” should be spelled out.
- The description should optimally be between 150-160 characters including spaces.
- Each page should have unique description tags.
Anchor Tag Formatting
- The clickable, viewable text in a hyper-link. This should include a keyword phrase if possible. Code Sample Below:
<a href=”http://www.example.com”>Example Anchor Text</a>
ALT Tag Formatting
- Text should be 5-10 words maximum and include a keyword phrase if possible. Code Sample Below:
<img src=“example.jpg” alt=“Example Keyword Phrase”/>
Hopefully, this information can assist you with editing your website. Some basic knowledge can go a long way. If you are. not comfortable doing these tasks yourself, you can always reach out to a web design company like Atomic Design.
