Have you heard of Google’s Authorship program yet? Whether you’ve heard of it or not, you’ve likely seen its fruits in the search results. You know those listings that have a photo of the author next to them? Most likely they get that extra cool stuff because they’re using Rel=Author correctly and Google has accepted them to participate. Unfortunately, it’s been a bit hit-or-miss as to whether your content gets accepted or not. I saw mine accepted for a day or two many months ago, and then *poof!* it was gone. I reviewed their new guidelines recently, however, made a few changes, and sure enough, within a week or so, my content started showing up… yay!

While you may or may not get your content into the program, the only way to know is to try, and persistence is definitely a key.

If you’re thinking it’s just not worth the trouble, here are 5 reasons why it’s super important:

1. It’s Kinda Sorta Easy to Implement.

While it is a bit confusing to figure out exactly how to enable authorship based on Google’s directions (which seem to keep changing), in reality their latest criteria have made it easier than ever to implement.

I’m not going into the specifics on how to do it, because you can follow Google’s directions. Suffice it to say that the main things you need are a Google Profile page that links to the website where you have author status, and a link back from your website’s home page to your Google Profile page.

You can also have an “author page,” such as the About Us page on your website, as long as your Google profile page links to that page.

Once you’ve got that all implemented, every time you write an article, simply link your name in your byline to either your Google Profile page or your author page with the Rel=Author code, as I have here:

By <a href=”http://www.highrankings.com/jill-whalen” rel=”author”>Jill Whalen</a>

- Example Page

Be sure to add the Rel=Author tag to as many of your old content articles as well, especially ones that you know show up well in the search results.

While Google has moved toward having you link directly to your Google Profile page in your Rel=Author links (as opposed to your author page) to make things less confusing, I still link to my author page, and it works fine.

If you go this route, be sure to follow their older, more confusing instructions as well.

2. It Makes Your Content Stand Out.

Imagine if you could put big stars around your content listings in Google’s search results that everyone would see. Rel=Author does exactly that! Only it’s not stars, but your name and photo.

Before Rel=Author became widespread, only logged-in users and those who participated in social media might see a little profile photo of you if they happened to search on something that you had tweeted about. But with Rel=Author implemented correctly, even users who aren’t logged into their Google accounts or their social media accounts will still see the rich author information and photo .

This is huge, folks, and this reason alone makes it worth figuring out the implementation.

3. Provides Credibility And More Exposure.

Beyond just seeing my smiling face in the listings for my content, as you can see in this screenshot, Google is also showing how many people have circled me on Google+ as well as a “More by Jill Whalen” link. Clicking that link shows more information about me from my Google Profile, plus posts I’ve made on Google+ related to the search query, and all the other articles that I’ve written on the subject.

I’ve also seen them show articles others have written on the subject that reference me in one way or another.

4. Higher Clickthrough Rate.

I’d say this one goes without saying, due to all of the above factors. It would be difficult to *not* click on the listing that Google is screaming for you to click on. Time will tell on this one, but so far it appears that since my authorship status started to show up in the Google results (it’s less than 2 weeks now), I’ve been getting more traffic for certain articles.

5. Additional Metrics in Webmaster Tools.

As if all of the above weren’t enough, once you have your authorship up and running and showing up in Google results, you’ll also see new author stats in your Webmaster Tools account . (Look under “Labs.”) The information there shows you approximately how many times each of your content pages showed up in the search results (impressions) and approximately how many times it was clicked on, along with other interesting details that you can’t really get elsewhere.
Of course, Google has their own selfish reasons for giving us all of this awesomeness. Their number-one priority this year is Google+ and all that surrounds it. Rel=Author provides anyone who creates online content with a darn good reason (make that 5!) to create a Google Profile. And the more people who do that, the more who might start using Google+, especially if they want to get those circle numbers up as mentioned in #3 above.

Gravatars 101

If you’ve been blogging for long enough then you’ve undoubtedly noticed that some users have small pictures that show up next to the comments that they leave. They may have a picture of themselves or it may be a custom picture that they’ve created. Either way, these little pictures are affectionately known around the online world as “Gravatars,” a clever play off “avatars,” and have become staples around successful bloggers and casual bloggers alike.

Gravatars: Defined

A Gravatar, as defined by en.gravatar.com, is an acronym for “Globally Recognized Avatar.” In layman’s terms, it’s a picture that you’ve uploaded onto the Gravatar website that, once uploaded, becomes associated with a certain email address. Anytime you use that email address – for example when you’re filling in the required fields on a blog commenting form, or participating in an online chat forum – that picture will show up next to your name and help to identify who you are and set you apart from everybody else that is also commenting.

Setting up a Gravatar

When you go to the website you are given two options for setting up your personalized Gravatar: one way will set it up so that it will be tied in with your WordPress account and the other way will allow you to create and activate your Gravatar even if you don’t have a WordPress account by linking it to your email address.

For WordPress Users:

1. Log onto the Gravatar website using the same email address connected to your WordPress account.

2. Select the method you will use to import your photo.

3. Arrange your photo how you want it to appear.

4. Select the appropriate rating for your photo.

5. Confirm the photo and you’re finished! It will now link to your email address and appear when you leave comments.

For Non-WordPress Users

1. Head over to the Gravatar website and click on the link that says “Get Your Gravatar Today!”

2. Type in the email address you want associated with your Gravatar to get a link with instructions detailing how to proceed.

3. Select and upload the picture that you want as your Gravatar.

4. Once uploaded the website will send it to your email address and the Gravatar will be linked to it from there on out.

The Importance of Utilizing Gravatars

Aside from being ridiculously easy to set up, there are several important reasons that every serious blogger needs to take the time to set up a Gravatar.

The internet is such a vast place that it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle, especially with blogging – after all there are hundreds of millions of blogs out there, all vying to be recognized. By having a Gravatar that pops up every time you leave a comment you begin to set yourself apart from every other anonymous comment out there, identifying you as an individual and not just another faceless name. It helps you to create a brand identity that follows you around your circle of the internet.

Since it’s probably safe to say that you comment on and interact with more than one blog, having a Gravatar that shows up by your comments allows people to bridge the connection of who you are from blog to blog. This will help you establish your role in the community and help you to come across as a more professional blogger. The more professional your online presence is, the wider range of opportunities you’re likely to come across.

One thing you do have to be mindful of is uploading an image that could make you look like a spammer. It’s usually safer to upload pictures of yourself because people take you more seriously that way. The last thing you want is to be flagged as a spammer because your picture was misleading. It’s wise to stay away from the generic pictures that you can find on all Windows desktops and go with custom photographs.

So Easy a Caveman Could Do It

As social media forums such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogging continue to grow and establish themselves as staples in both our professional and personal lives it’s important to find ways to set yourself apart. Creating and uploading a Gravatar is one of the simplest things you can do as far as creating an identity on the Internet, only taking a few minutes of your time and giving you a wealth of benefits in return.

When you consider all the pros that accompany having a Gravatar there’s really no reason not to set one up for yourself – you’ll quickly establish more credibility as a blogger and widen your online presence. When people begin to recognize you on a wide variety of blogs their trust in you will exponentially grow as well. In fact, when you look at the big picture, there really are no disadvantages to setting up a personalized Gravatar.

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It’s something that you hear all the time – all of the SEO content in the world doesn’t do you any good, unless your readers are really engaged in it. After all, people don’t purchase products, sign up for email lists, or share links if they think that something is “just OK”. If you’re not publishing SEO content that really gets readers involved, you’re missing out on countless link opportunities, traffic, and sales.

So, how exactly do you create SEO content that’s going to engage readers?

1. Don’t Overlook the Importance of “You”

Your SEO articles, blog posts, and optimized sales pages are not formal research papers. The best way to get results out of them is to make each reader feel like you’re speaking directly to them. Luckily, you can do that by focusing on one little word – “you”. Writing in the third person (using “he”, “she”, or “they”) is impersonal; writing in the second person (using “you”) brings your SEO content to a personal level.

Take a look at this sentence:

“People have a hard time driving traffic to their websites because they haven’t defined a target audience.”

It’s not a bad sentence. It contains an important fact that is easy to understand, and it’s certainly better than some of the gibberish you see floating around out there. Your readers will look at this sentence and probably agree with it. Unfortunately, though, there’s no personal investment on their behalf. Instead, they’ll probably think, “Sure, ‘people’ probably do have that problem. So, what does that have to do with me?”

Now, change the same sentence ever so slightly, to:

“You have a hard time driving traffic to your website because you haven’t defined a target audience.”

You’re making the same point and using the same fact. The only difference is that you’re not talking about other people. Instead, you’re speaking directly to the reader and telling him exactly what his problem is. By phrasing the sentence this way, your reader is much more likely to think, “You know what? She’s right. That is my problem! Let me keep reading to see if she has any tips to help me fix it.”

Just like that, you’ve encouraged someone to read your SEO content all the way to the end. Assuming the rest of your SEO content is full of important information, readers will get to the end and think of you with more respect. You can’t ask for a reader to be more engaged than that!

2. Get Rid of the “$10 Words”

I don’t know about you, but I hate “$10 words” – you know, the words you learned for the vocabulary section of the SAT’s and haven’t used since. Most of the time, I see big words and the writer instantly strikes me as someone who wants everybody to think he’s smart. Unfortunately, it’s a terrible impression to give to readers – that you’re some kind of stuffy know-it-all. After all, would you do business with a stuffy know-it-all? I sure wouldn’t!

Making matters worse, you may have a reader who doesn’t know what your “$10 word” means – and now he feels stupid.

Guess what?

People don’t buy from businesses that make them feel stupid!

Bottom line – keep the “$10 words” out of your SEO content. You can provide answers, list solutions, and summarize benefits with the same language that you’d use talking to a fríend over lunch.

Remember, the goal is to make the reader feel like the two of you are having a conversation. You simply can’t do that with big, fancy words that no one actually uses in everyday conversation!

3. Use Lists Whenever You Can

Internet searchers are a bunch that love to scan and skim. They scan Google results, article titles, and even the body of the SEO content itself – until they see something that catches their eye. Once they think something’s worth their while, they’ll sit down and read the whole thing. So, the easier you make it for readers to scan your SEO content, the greater your chances of them slowing down to engage with what you have to say.

That’s why you see so many numbered lists and bullet points around the web. Successful writers know that they’re crucial to catching people’s attention. After all, scanning a list to see if it’s got some merit is a whole lot easier than trying to trudge through long paragraphs.

That doesn’t mean you should try to force lists into every piece of SEO content that you publish. In some cases, they just don’t work. In situations where a list isn’t appropriate, make sure that your SEO content has short paragraphs. That way, readers won’t feel “intimidated” by giant paragraphs that look far too time-consuming to read.

How short are we talking?

If your paragraphs have more than 5 or 6 sentences in them, they’re too long. Chances are you’re trying to make too many points in your paragraph. Stick to one point per paragraph, so that you don’t end up with SEO content that looks more like War and Peace.

Remember – internet searchers want answers and solutions, and they want them now. If your SEO content makes it easy for them to find what they’re looking for, you greatly improve the odds of them being fully engaged in what you have to say!

If you are a Facebook user, you know how long a news feed can get with all the updates from everyone. What if you could turn those updates into a fun game, testing how well you know your Facebook friends? With WhoGab, you’re provided with a random update and you have to guess which friend posted it. It’s addicting, simple, and fun!

OK, so you’ve decided that getting some web video on your website and social media profiles is a great idea to make you more appealing to prospects and put your SEO (search engine optimization) on HGH. You realize that video marketing is a key part of your overall search engine marketing and social media strategy. Bully for you! Now onto the tech stuff. Video formats can be mind-boggling and vary depending on the equipment the video was shot with, the type of computer you use, and the final destination where you want to host and serve up your on-demand video as part of your video marketing plan.
So which is best for you?

Lorraine Grula provides these tips from her years of experience as a top shelf video photographer and producer in ReelSEO.

Web Video Guidelines

Depending on whether you are doing research to get started with web video or if you are making use of existing equipment and software, you may be limited to formats below:

* Raw Video Format — As determined by your camera or, nowadays, your recording software. For instance, the software I record SmartVu Video Interviews with processes raw video the best when saved as Windows Movie (.wmv). I have a PC based application. Your camera or software may have a different standard, especially if you are utilizing a MAC.

* Editing Standards — Your editing software may also have a limitation on types of video it will accept and types that it works the best with. My videos are material related, not glitz and glamour, so I use programs like Corel Video Studio and Windows Live Movie Maker. Most video editors will accept nearly all the basic raw video formats, but you’ll want to confirm.

* Video Platform — What type of video format works best with your online video platform that will serve as your host? Will you host it on your site? Take into account Adobe Flash for speed reasons of loading without buffering. YouTube? They convert your incoming video to Flash (.flv) for display. If you’re using a 3rd party, inquire about their favored video format.

Obviously if you have a mismatch in your video camera output and your editor, for instance, you’re up a creek without a paddle and will need to convert your raw video to be accepted by the editor. Avoid this, as every conversion results in quality loss for the video. Try to avoid too many conversions.

Resolution versus File Size

Look, with internet video marketing, you are facing a tradeoff between two things when recording, editing and finishing videos: resolution and file size. Lorraine describes compatibility too in the ReelSEO piece, and we talked about that already. The better the quality, the larger the file size (usually), and that means the longer the buffer when loading the video on your player upon demand (especially if uploaded directly from your site server). If you want extra clear quality, the first thing you need is a work-horse computer loaded up with RAM and a uber-fast processor. I am a PC guy and I had to get an I-7 Dell to accommodate recording Hi-Def video. My old PC (5 years old) could not manage the large files without Japanese Monster Movie style mis-tracking between voice and image and I was obliged to record at lower resolutions until upgrading.

The Main Video Formats for Web Video

If you ‘re looking for the best of both worlds and your hardware can handle the recording and editing, see this brief (did I say brief?) analysis of web video formats you’ll be using:

Windows Media Video (.wmv)

This is the basic PC video file format that comes with Windows set up for Windows Media Player. It is well-known, yields reasonable quality and a pretty small file size. Want higher quality? Record or finish-edit at a higher resolution and the file size goes up accordingly. The advantage of .wmv is that it’s standard with all Windows PCs and, if shot in low enough resolution, can really be small enough to share via email. I use this format for ‘SmartVu Video Interviews’ (http://smartcompanygrowth.com/smartvu-executive- video-interviews/) and then stream them on YouTube, and they convert without much problem with nice finish quality.

Audio-Video Interlaced (.avi)

This is the original video format from Microsoft and has a tendency to yield very large files unacceptable for sharing, but of good quality for master files. For sharing, most videographers finish-edit the file in another format to reduce file size. According to Grula there is some inconsistency with the codecs (tech video term here) depending on the recording device, making .avi not a great choice for small business video and novice producers.

Motion Picture Experts Gróup MPEG-4 (.mp4)

Growing numbers of video producers online are digging .mp4 as the format of choice. It has the H-264 compression codec which is considered top drawer, and is quickly becoming the standard output of camcorders and video cameras. For online sharing the .mp4 format is moving toward the universal choice and in fact is recommended by YouTube, the big fish in the platform market.

Apple Quick Time (.mov)

This format has been around a while and is standard from Apple Quick Time, but is not restricted to Macs. File sizes are big and quality is high. If super-tight quality is your concern, this may be your format.

Flash Video (.flv)

This is the most prevalent file format on the web today, playable in the Adobe Flash Player which is standard on 99% of all computers. Video sharing sites like YouTube, Vimeo, etc. take your existing videos and convert to flash for streaming to watchers of the site. File sizes are small, it streams fast, and the flash player can start playing the videos while they are still loading which is fantastic for longer videos (5 min or longer). If you host video on your server, converting to .flv is almost a requirement for user experience. I have used the Riva converter to convert some .wmv files to flash and noticed quality degradation in exchange for the file size and speed issue; nevertheless, YouTube conversions seem to be very clear.

Tips

Here is my suggestion to small business owners and entrepreneurs looking to get into video marketing on their sites and social media profiles.

Record raw footage in the best possible format for your device. If that is .mp4, you’re one step ahead of the game.

When editing, complete the video in .mp4. Test to see if your quality is acceptable with no degradation. MPEG-4 is much easier to upload and move around. If you see a quality reduction, save finish edits to the same file format as your raw footage.

Upload your videos to a video sharing platform. I recommend YouTube. It is the biggest, gets the most traffic by far, and let’s face it Google now owns YouTube. If you’re streaming video on your website from YouTube or another site, which one do you think will get the best SEO results and page 1 positioning? YouTube will convert to either .mp4 or .flv and do a fine job with it, taking that off your plate.

Now you just need to learn how to use YouTube without providing 100 options for people to abandon your video and go somewhere else. I’ll tell you more on that in a later post.

“SEO is never done” is a phrase that is thrown around a lot, mostly because it’s true! However, when most people talk about the continuation of a SEO campaign, they are usually referring to offsite link building. SEO is about more than developing inbound links! Without a well optimized link to send traffic to, all your hard work offsite is just going to waste. Don’t let your onsite SEO go years before you revisit it. Here are 3 quick onsite SEO touchups you can do today to make sure your site is in top SEO shape:

All industries change with time, some just evolve faster than others. If you want your website to become a trusted source of information for your target audience, you have got to make sure you are giving them the most up-to-date and relevant information at all times. That’s simple enough to do on a business blog; as long as you are publishing new content on a regular basis, the blog will stay fresh and useful. However, many site owners forget to treat their website’s resource section with the same care.

As part of a well-rounded content marketing strategy, you should be creating whitepapers, articles, videos and other forms of informational content for your target audience. However, these whitepapers/articles are not forever current. As your industry evolves the information in them becomes obsolete. Unlike your business blog, which may get updated every day with the latest and greatest industry news, these whitepapers can sit for years on your site, waiting to be downloaded. When was the last time you read through those whitepapers? How much of that information is still applicable today?

Writing an entirely new whitepaper is going to take a lot of time, research and effort. If you just can’t fit that into your schedule, why not just update your existing whitepapers? Some of the core information might still be relevant, but you can add or delete sections as needed. You can re-promote them as your 2012 version and give them a second chance at life!

Every page of your website has the potential to be a landing page for a visitor. This is because the search engines rank individual pages, not websites as a whole. It’s important to conduct keyword research on a page-by-page basis for that exact reason. The keywords you select should be an accurate reflection of each page of content. Many websites fail to convert because they target the wrong keywords, meaning they attract the wrong visitor.

Using your website’s analytics, determine which pages of your site are under-performing in terms of converting. Reread the content with fresh eyes and make sure the keywords you are targeting make sense. Did you miss the mark the first time around? The more you know about your target audience the more you can understand their intent when searching. For instance, “BPM” could mean “beats per minute” or it could mean “business process management.” The same search phrase is applicable in multiple situations! Is your website taking that into account?

It could also mean you missed out on important keyword variations your target audience is using. For instance, I run a SEO company. It could also be called a SEO firm, SEO agency, search engine optimization company, SEO services firm and so forth. People are going to search for the same thing using different terms. If your website only focuses on one of these variations, you’re alienating a large segment of your target audience.

Incorporate New Call-To-Actions

You have to make it very clear to visitors to your site about what you want them to do. Should they call your office? Fill out a lead form? Download a free tríal? Spell it out for them and then repeat those call-to-actions throughout your site. Every visitor to your site is going to have different motivations driving them, so you can try to appeal to those motivations by incorporating different call-to-actions throughout your site.

For instance, an e-commerce site could use call-to-actions like “Búy now and guaranteéd delivery in 3 days” to appeal to last minutes shoppers or “Spend $50 today and receive 10% back as a gift card for future purchases” to go after shoppers looking for a deal. The goal is all the same, to get shoppers to purchase now, but each call-to-action focuses on a specific benefit that appeals to particular shoppers.

With so much misinformation about SEO having been dispensed over the years, it’s hard to know what’s true and isn’t true – making it all the more difficult to separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff, as it were. Concerned about the potential harm misinformation about SEO can ultimately cause, I decided to compile an alphabetical listing of the most popular and persistent SEO myths, to either debunk or confirm their factuality.

1. Adwords

Since the arrival of Google Adwords, there has been an ongoing debate over whether or not running an Adwords campaign can improve search engine rankings. Ultimately, only Google knows the answer to that question for sure. However, to my knowledge, there is no credible evidence to support the notion that Adwords can improve your search engine ranking. If there were indeed concrete evidence to the contrary, it stands to reason, everybody would just start an Adwords campaign to boost their rankings.

2. Anchor Text

Although it can be other colors, anchor text is typically the blue, hyperlinked text you see on a web page – the words that you click onto take you to another page. For example:

free marketing tips

Okay, but is anchor text important? Yes, it is because it’s a crucial element in the search engines complex algorithmic formula that helps determine the rankings of websites.

For example, suppose you have a blog that reviews digital camera’s; the more links you have with the words “digital camera reviews” in your anchor text, the greater your chances of increasing your ranking for the keywords digital camera reviews.

3. Alt Tags

Alt tags are used to display a short text description of an image. It gets displayed when you hover your mouse over the graphic. But are Alt tags an important part of SEO?

It depends on whom you ask. Some experts dismiss the importance of Alt tags altogether, while others tout its importance. Personally, I used to léan in the direction of “not important,” until I read a couple of outstanding articles that made me rethink my position.

SEO expert Bill Hartzer makes a strong argument for the use of Alt tags. In his article, Search Engine Optimization: Why Image Alt Tags are Important.

“There is strong evidence that the search engines are now giving more weight to Alt Tags than they are the Title Tag or even an H1 Tag on the page. What?!? Yes, that’s right. You do need to make sure you use proper Title Tags and H1 Tags, but more SEO value for organic search engine rankings can be gained by using proper Alt Tags than using proper Title Tags or H1 Tags.”

And in his article, Why You Need to Stop Ignoring Image Alt Attributes, AJ Wilcox of OrangeSoda.com makes a compelling common sense argument:

“Keyword usage in image alt text is classified as having minimal importance by a consortium of SEO experts, but that doesn’t mean it’s worthless. It is yet another opportuníty to declare your relevance to your given keyword. The little things add up to big things together, so don’t ignore them.”

I agree with AJ. A lot of little things in combination do indeed add up to big things.

4. FFA Pages

FFA is an acronym for “Free-For All.” Here’s an example of an FFA page:

In a nutshell, FFAs are basically web pages of worthless links where anyone can submit their website’s URL for free (hence the term Free-For-All). One of the biggest and oldest SEO myths is, if you post your website’s URL on FFA pages, you will get massive traffic, as well boost your link popularity and search engine ranking. Here’s the truth: People who visit FFA pages do so only to post their own ads – not look at someone else’s. And any traffic you do get will be completely worthless!

In addition, FFA pages are considered both spammy and scammy, and posting on them could adversely affect your website’s reputation with the search engines – which could in fact hurt your ranking – or even get you banned. Why? Because in essence, FFA pages are nothing but link farms – and you know what Google thinks of link farms.

My advice: RUN, DON’T WALK away from FFA pages!

5. Header Tags

Header tags, for example H1, H2 are standard HTML elements used to define headings and subheadings on a web page.

Are they important? To my knowledge, there is no credible evidence to suggest that header tags have an effect on search engine rankings one way or the other. My advice: If you’re currently using header tags, continue using them if you wish. If you’re not using them, don’t worry about it.

6. Keyword Density

Question: What is the correct density of keywords on a web page?

Answer: There isn’t one.

Yes, I know this topic has been debated back and forth, but personally, I don’t think keyword density even exists as a calculable numeric constant. In other words, don’t worry about the correct keyword density. And don’t worry about counting keywords. Just create your web pages naturally, without trying to force or stuff keywords where they don’t belong. Then, let the proverbial chips fall where they may.

7. Keywords in Domain Name

Do keywords in a domain name help your ranking?

Based on my own personal experience, yes, having your primary keywords in your domain name does help with your ranking. To what degree, however, only Google knows the answer to that. But since Google uses over 200 signals to determine the ranking of websites, I can’t imagine keywords in your domain name not carrying some amount of weight.

The keywords and phrases you use in your Meta description tag may not affect your page’s ranking in the search engines, but this tag can still come in handy in your overall SEO and social media marketing campaigns.

What Is the Meta Description Tag?

It’s a snippet of HTML code that belongs inside the <Head> </Head> section of a web page. It is usually placed after the Title tag and before the Meta keywords tag (if you use one), although the order is not important.

The proper syntax for this HTML tag is:

<META NAME=”Description” CONTENT=”Your descriptive sentence or two goes here.”>

If you’re using a content management system (CMS), look for a field to fill out that’s called Meta Description, or possibly just “Description.”

Many years ago, the information contained in a Meta description could slightly help a page rank highly for the words that were contained within it. Today, neither Google, Bing, nor Yahoo! use it as a ranking signal.

In other words, whether you use your important keyword phrases in your Meta description tag or not, the position of your page in the search engine results will not be affected. So in terms of rankings, you could easily leave it out altogether.

But should you?

There are 3 important ways that Meta descriptions are being used today that make them an important part of your SEO and overall onlíne marketing strategy:

1. They can be used as the description (or part of the description) of your page if it shows up in the search results.

2. They are often used as part of the descriptive information for your pages when Google shows “extended sitelinks” for your site.

3. They are often used as the default description in social media marketing links such as Facebook and Google+.

Let’s look at each of these in more detail.

1. Meta Descriptions in the Search Results

People often think that whatever they put in their Meta description tag will be the default description that the search engines use under the clickable link to their site in the search results. While this is sometimes true, it’s not always the case.

Currently, if you’re searching for a site by its URL (for example www.highrankings.com) Google tends to use the first 20 to 25 words of your Meta description as the default description in the search engine result pages (SERP). However, if you have a listing at DMOZ, also known as the Open Directory Project (ODP) and are not using the “noodp” tag, they may default to that description instead. (Do a search at Google for www.amazon.com to see an example.)

Bing and Yahoo!, on the other hand, don’t always default to the Meta description tag for URL searches. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t. A search for www.highrankings.com at Bing or Yahoo! shows content from my home page as the description rather than the contents of my Meta description tag.

Of course, real people aren’t typically searching for a site by URL, so what the search engines show for those types of search queries is not as important as a true keyword search. So don’t get hung up on what you see when you search for your site by its URL or if you’re doing a “site:command” search to see how they’re indexing your pages.

Instead, go to your favorite web analytics program and find the keyword phrases that are currently bringing you the most traffic. Then see what your description looks like at Google when you type in those keywords.

And surprise! What you’ll find is that your search results description will be different for every search query! You may see any combination of the following used:

* Your entire Meta description tag text as the complete description (typically if it’s highly relevant and contains no more than 25 words).

* A full sentence pulled from your Meta description tag, but not the entire Meta description (if it contains more than one sentence).

* Text from one part of your Meta description mashed together with text from another part of it (if it’s more than 25 words long).

* Some text from your Meta description mashed together with some text from the page.

* Some text from your page mashed together from some other text from your page (nothing from the Meta description).

Some of the circumstances that cause Google to not use text from your Meta description may include:

* The information in the Meta description tag was not specific to the page it was on.

* The search query used some words that were not in the Meta description, but those words (or some of them) were used in the page content. This includes words that Google considers somewhat synonymous, such as “copy” and “copywriting” or “SEO” and “search engine optimization.”

But even the above are not hard and fast rules. Google doesn’t always use all or part of the Meta description even when the exact search phrase was contained within it – especially if the search query is also contained within the content of the page. Suffice it to say that there are no hard and fast rules for when Google will show it and when they won’t.

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