SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is critical to success of your website. One of the first, and easiest, things you can do for your Concrete5 website is to create sensible Meta Title, Meta Description, Meta Keywords, and Slugs. First the good news: It can all be done from one page in the Concrete5 dashboard. Second… there is no bad news.
Your Meta title and descriptions aren’t normally visible to the public on your website… but they do frequently represent how your site is presented by Search Engines (*quoting Google Webmaster info “title and meta description text can appear in search results, and useful, descriptive text is more likely to be clicked on by users”). Meta Keywords now have considerably less affect then they did in the past (some have claimed they could potentially do more harm than good). Your “slugs” should be a search friendly way to display your URLs.
To access the Easiest way to create and edit all your sites meta descriptions, just log in > select “Dashboard” > select “Systems & Settings” (lower left) > and on that page select “SEO & Statistics” where you’ll see a category for “Bulk SEO”. The “Bulk SEO” page will give you a page that looks similar to this.
Take a little time to ensure each page is represented accurately. Cutting and Pasting from one page description to another is not the way to set yourself apart from the crowd. A few extra minutes spent here is definitely worthwhile! Your page titles should be descriptive but no more than 60 – 65 characters long (including spaces) while your page descriptions are best displayed as a short (150 – 160 character) paragraph that describes and reinforces what your page content really is. Meta Keywords, although are not very SEO helpful anymore, can be entered separated by commas… keep them relevant to the actual page content and don’t use more than a few per page (two or three could be helpful in my eyes… 30 or 40 is blatant abuse).
Tip 1: You’ll notice your page titles, by default, likely begin with your site name… This is, in my opinion, a waste of space. In this instance, your site name should be secondary to a search friendly page title that matches the unique content of that page (people searching for apples will be more likely attracted to a page titled “Apples from Around the World” before a page titled “Marks Fresh Produce”)
Tip 2: Meta Keywords may have little impact… but remember strong keyword use in your content – your page Title – your Description – and your Slug can have a cumulative effect on how your rankings progress.
Tip 3: Remember: You’re doing all this to be attractive and found by real people… search engines are just a tool to get there. Write your content and descriptions simply and accurately so that they are interesting to the people you a targeting first, then analyze how it may fit search engine criteria.
Enjoy your website building with Concrete5. Watch for more articles and Webcasts on how to make it easier!
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