Re: meta tags and keyword density

From: Tim Krueger <tim_at_futuresolutions.net>
Date: Fri 03 Dec 1999 08:15:15 -0800

CATHE CHAPMAN-MARTIN WROTE:
> I'm doing some search engine optimization for my
> company's site, optimizing the home page and then an
> information page for advertisers. I'm questioning
> whether or not I'm using too many key words and thereby
> diluting them. The discussion on search engines on
> the list has been top notch, and I'd very much
> appreciate if anyone could throw a few thoughts my
> way, on or off line. I've included the meta tags below.
>
> Also, is anyone using doorway pages? Any thoughts on
> those as well?

Hello to Cathe. From a guy who used to own and manage
health clubs way back in the 80's, I love this concept.
Looks like another amazing application and example of
true internet integration. Since 1996, I've been
spending a great deal of time and energy optimizing our
clients sites for the search engines and we've been
fortunate enough to create some significant streams of
targeted visitors for several sites. I tend to get long
winded with this stuff as it is really hard to give
quick fix answers, but here's a few thoughts: Nice job
on the title tags, they are concise and descriptive
while including meaningful keywords. You have your meta
"keywords" section next. I like to put the meta
"description" first right after the title as some
spiders will just grab the top chunk of words and show
them as as your summary. You have the word "netpulse"
repeated 4 times to start off your "keyword" section. 2
things I'd change about that. First, I try not to :-)
repeat any single keyword more than 3 times, especially
right in a row like that, and second: Is that really an
important keyword that people will be using to find
your site? I don't know the fitness industry anymore,
so it may well be. I think the rest of the keywords
look pretty good, with one important warning. You have
"StairMaster, LifeCycle and Tectrix ClimbMax" in your
keyword section. Since I believe these are registered
trade marks, it would be a good idea to check with
those companies first to make sure they are OK with you
using their names to drive traffic to your site. They
may have no problem with it, but it's a good idea to
cover yourself on this.

With reference to the doorway question, yes, we do use
doorways, but sparingly. And we make sure that they
look visually consistent with the site design and that
they are attractive only for keyword searches that are
relevant to the site content. Keep in mind that a
doorway adds one more hop for your visitor to make
before they arrive at the content they are looking for.
I like to optimize the inside pages of a site first,
without making any doorways at all. If our testing then
tells us that we need doorways to increase our
visibility, then we go that route, but sparingly and
carefully. My last comment would be that meta tags are
just one component in what we call "search
empowerment". Your meta tags need to work with the rest
of the content on your pages to truly optimize your
search engine rankings. Hope this helps. Keep up the
great work!

Best Regards,
Tim Krueger


--
Tim Krueger
President & Web Marketing Director
Future Solutions.net - Empowered Website Design
http://www.futuresolutions.net @ ph:773-508-0332 fax:773-508-5079
Paid Web Surfing - http://www.alladvantage.com/home.asp?refid=FBK-235




Received on Fri Dec 03 1999 - 10:15:15 CST