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The descriptions search engines offer when displayingsearch results are generally retrieved from twosources:a) the displayed pages title tag;b) the displayed pages description meta tag or, in default of same, the first characters of the pages body text; the number of characters displayed is limited, with some engines picking up a maximum of 150 characters, other offering slightly more;c) the displayed pages keywords meta tag - while this meta tags content will not be excerpted for the displayed texts description proper, it is one of several factors determining which search results are displayed at all and in which order (ranking). (Note that this is a generalization - some, though few, search engines refuse to take into account any meta tags. Obviously, different rules apply in their case.)Both a), b) and c) should relate to the specificpages content, not the web sites or its corporateowners overall theme! That is why they are placedindividually in each pages header in the firstplace.There is a popular misconception amongst webmarketeers regarding search engine positioningmechanics, namely that web page meta tags and titlesare to be employed as instruments of branding.However, if true at all, this would typically applyexclusively to a web sites main or index page.One of the metaphors commonly used in propagating thiserroneous marketing policy is that of the "businesscard".While it is true that a search result functions as asites public representation it must also be notedthat this should always relate to the specific pagedisplayed: anything else may legitimately be deemeddiversionary tactics, meaning that the page could bepenalized for "spamming". (Yes, the respective searchengines definition of "spam" varies widely and is allbut consistent. Also, in several cases it notablylacks a consistent logical basis, but that is not thetopic at discussion here.)This aside, it should be remembered that it will beboth, a pages title and its description which willinduce a searcher to actually click on the link andvisit the site.Hence, a pages description as displayed in searchresults is more akin to a product precis or summarythan a general corporate business card and should beconstrued that way.A unified approach, presenting one and the samepromotional text on each and every page displayedby the search engines, while seemingly making sensefrom the corporate image point of view, actuallyconstitutes a severe and unnecessary self-restriction,effectively hampering the overall online marketingefforts.A practical example-------------------Lets assume that you are running a used cardealership with an online presence (web site).Your companys name is "Honest John Autos Inc."and your main corporate marketing slogan which madeyou famous all over your home town is "Used CarsGalore: The Fairest - The Squarest - The Best!(TM)"You offer a fairly extensive variety of used carsin your products palette, ranging from farmers pickuptrucks to vintage American autos, foreign luxury andsports cars, etc.Your web site has some 150 pages, all of which youwill submit to the search engines for indexing.The pages are well focused and carry specific titles, e.g.:- "50s Chevvy Beauties"- "As good as new - Oldsmobile special offers"- "Luxury finally made affordable - the Porsche Paradise"- "Agro Cars - the Pickup Center"etc.Now if you insist on putting your "Used CarsGalore: The Fairest - The Squarest - The Best!(TM)"slogan in every pages description tag, all you willbe able to rely on to pull visitors to your site isyour page title. But while it may appear to you thatthe slogan is a nice marketing reinforcement of thepage title "Agro Cars - the Pickup Center", fact isthat you might as well qualify the title message witha specific description which is a lot more to thepoint in relation to the title - and to the surfersoriginal request.Hence, you might wish to describe your Agro Cars pagein a more focused manner, e.g.:-----------------------------------------------------"Californias largest selection of second handagricultural pickup trucks - excellent condition, andno-questions asked 30 days full refund guarantee!"-----------------------------------------------------(150 chars.), or similar.This will usually be a far stronger incitement tovisit your page if the web surfer is actually aserious buyer-to-be. It will also help pre-qualifyyour web site traffic by eliminating visitors notresident in California or perhaps not interested inbuying a pickup in another state than their own.And there are even more advantages: the page will behighly topical from the search engines point of view,which will normally improve its ranking considerably.Since the page description will be indexed along withthe keywords meta tag and the body text, you willincrease your overall search engine coverage andenhance the possibility of your page being found undersearch phrase combinations you may not specificallyhave optimized it for. (You cant do them all, andsome phrases and keyword combinations are so unlikelyor even contorted, its highly probable you wont beable to think of every possibility in advance.)Thus, while you may be targeting the keywords orsearch phrases "used cars", "second hand cars" and"pickups", the example above may also give your pagea good ranking for combinations such as "+used+pickups +guarantee" or "pickups California", etc.Compare this to the limited scope of your "Used CarsGalore: The Fairest - The Squarest - The Best!(TM)"slogan!So what about branding and sloganizing, then?---------------------------------------------Dont confuse the media you are working with!And, of course, determine what your web site isreally about: do you actually want to sell productsand services online or, at the very least, drawbuyers to your brick-and-mortar sales rooms? In thatcase you should proceed as suggested above, leveragingthe possibilities offered by keeping your page tagsflexible and focused.But even if branding (without actually targetingonline sales) is all you care about, your web sitewill still require some enticement to motivate peopleto visit it.You might offer some regular sports or bettingresults, feature some online games, organize asweepstake, etc. These, too, will require focused andwell described web pages, else no one will come andcheck them out. (Nobody will visit CocaColas web sitemerely for the heck of it or to imbibe their onlinepromo, unless they offer some entertainment and a prizeof sorts to do so.)So there are some generic limits to conventionalbranding on the web, and you will be well advised toheed them. Search engines arent the best medium totry for it: you may sink a lot of money into the wrongcorner of the marketplace that way.You may, however, push your branding considerably byother activities than search engine optimization:press releases, newsgroup participation, banner ads,reciprocal links, online reviews, free trialdownloads, client testimonials, etc.If youre interested in a professional, high qualitymarketing package tailor made to your specificrequirements, we suggest you check out our strategicpartners at California based Wolfblast InteractiveInc., - you wont getbetter value for your money anywhere!Remember that search engines are supposed to be usertools, not mere brain dead corporate billboards! Ifyou want to make your mark and increase your(preferably pre-qualified) search engine traffic, makesure to service the user first: this will in fact turnout to be the best investment in your search enginefocused online marketing.Users will appreciate it if your search enginerankings prove to be relevant, informative andtruthful. Just like you, they dont like wastingtheir time on confusing, misleading or nondescriptsearch results.And lots of studies have shown that search engineoptimization is actually the most cost-effectivemarketing activity of all. It is bound to give you amuch bigger bang per buck for the simple reason thatits a fairly lasting effect (at least, by internetstandards it is): Many of our clients are stillprofiting today from search engine positioning work wedid for them 10+ months ago - no banner ad campaign canbeat that, not in absolute terms and certainly not forthat sort of money.Search engines:"Play them right, and they will feed you.Play them wrong, and they will eat you."

About the Author

Ralph Tegtmeier is the co-founder and principal offantomaster.com Ltd. (UK) and fantomaster.com GmbH(Belgium), a company specializing in webmasterssoftware development, industrial-strength cloaking andsearch engine positioning services. You can contact him atmailto:fneditor@fantomaster.com