Understanding Meta Descriptions and How Best to Use Them

Understanding Meta Descriptions and How Best to Use Them Although many people dont give meta descriptions much thought, they can play a huge role in determining what websites we click and how much traffic a given page will receive. Whether youre running a new website or trying to boost traffic to your company page, it is important to understand what meta descriptions are and the role they play. Stay tuned to learn more about meta descriptions! CortezTextbroker Marketing and CommunicationsEven if you dont realize it, you probably see meta descriptions on a daily basis. Although many people dont give meta descriptions much thought, they can play a huge role in determining what websites we click and how much traffic a given page will receive. Whether youre running a new website or trying to boost traffic to your company page, it is important to understand what meta descriptions are and the role they play. Stay tuned to learn more about meta descriptions, how long they should be, what information they contain and why they matter. What Are Meta Descriptions? Before diving into the value and purpose of meta descriptions, it is important to define exactly what they are. The short definition is that a meta description is an HTML attribute that briefly summarizes the content of a particular webpage. An HTML attribute is a way to provide additional information about an element using code. This makes it possible for search engines to understand and display information correctly.The longer definition of a meta description is that it is the information that a user will see when on a search engine results page (SERP). Say, for example, that you go to Google and search for vacation destinations near Boston. When you click search, youll see the first page of results. Each of those results will have a title tag, which is like a headline, and underneath that will be the actual link to the page, known as the slug. Both of those items are clickable, which means that users can click on them and be instantly directed to the webpage. Below those elements, there is a brief description in black text. This description is the meta description. It summarizes the content of the page linked above it, and it helps users determine which of the links on the SERP will be most valuable to them. Using Meta Descriptions to Boost SEO SEO is the acronym for search engine optimization. The objective of SEO is to get more users to your website organically. The goal is to have your website appear in SERPs and then have more people click on your website to learn more. There are many different ways that you can boost SEO through metadata, but one of the most effective is through the use of meta descriptions.Think about the last time that you navigated onto a SERP. You probably faced at least 10 results on a single page, not to mention endless other pages with countless more results. How do you choose which of these results to click on? Many people will click on the first link on the results page no matter what, and others will look for a website name they recognize. Others, however, will pay close attention to the meta descriptions under each link to find out which website is the right fit for their query.If your meta description is appealing and accurate and it communicates the right amount of information, then users are more likely to click on your link. Over time, this increases your traffic substantially. Perhaps even more importantly, it shows search engines like Google that users prefer your content to the content of your competitors, boosting all of your content over time. The Value of an Up-to-Date Meta Description In terms of timeliness, there are two major types of content: Timely content and evergreen content. Timely content is only relevant for a short period of time, but evergreen content can be valuable for years to come. Take a look at these two examples of timely and evergreen content titles:Timely Content: 10 Ways to Celebrate New Years in 2019 Evergreen Content: 10 Fun Ways to Ring in the New Year at HomeOften, websites go back and update older content so that it remains relevant. While this can be a great idea, dont forget to update the meta description as well. If a webpage talks about 2019 fashion trends but the meta description still talks about 2017, then both Google and users will skip over your content in favor of something more relevant.Plus, you want your meta description to be an accurate reflection of the content it is summarizing. If your meta description promises an in-depth analysis of the 2018 election but your content talks about something different, then users will leave your page quickly in search of the information they are truly after. What Is the Ideal Length of a Meta Description? There is only room for a sentence or two underneath the title tag and web address in a search engine results page. Because of this, youll need to craft a meta description that can sum up your content in a set amount of words. Ideally, your meta description should be at least 1 1 words long. This ensures that it contains enough information to be informative to users as well as to search engines.In the past, Google has recommended that meta descriptions be anywhere from 135 to 160 characters. However, that has recently been updated to a maximum of 230 characters. If you use more than 230 characters in your meta description, there is a risk that it will be cut off. To include the whole description, cut it down until youre confident that it is somewhere between 135 and 230 characters. Crafting the Perfect Meta Description Now that you know how long your meta descriptions should be and why they are so important, it is time to learn how to write the perfect meta descriptions. The following are some of the top tips to keep in mind when writing meta descriptions.Keywords or Key Phrases: One of the most critical things youll need to include in your meta description is a keyword or a key phrase. This ensures that search engines know when to suggest your content and your page. If youre writing about restaurants in New York, be sure to include those exact words in your meta description. At the same time, dont stuff keywords in your meta description. The writing should be natural and geared toward readers, not toward robots.Include a Call to Action: What do you want people to do after they read your meta description? Most of the time, the goal is for them to click on your link. Dont be afraid to include a call to action right in your meta description to encourage them to take the next step. Great words and phrases to include could be some of the following: Click here Check it out Learn More Read on DiscoverSummarize Your Content Accurately: It might be tempting to elaborate or embellish within your meta description. However, that can be a mistake. Your meta description should always accurately depict what users can expect to find if they click through. Accurate descriptions mean that users will be pleased with the results. If they click thro ugh and leave immediately, that wont help your business or your rankings on search engines like Google.Make Each Meta Description Unique: A surprising number of websites use the same meta descriptions for each of their pages. While that might save a little time, it wont help your SEO rankings. Your meta description should be specific to each page, so using the same description twice isnt going to be accurate. Every single time that you create new content in the form of an article or a blog post, make sure that you also take a few minutes to create a brand-new meta description for that content. Typically, it is best if the author of the content also writes the meta description.Use an Active Voice: To encourage people to click through to your link, and to excite them as they read your meta description, aim to use an active voice. Keep the tense present whenever possible since using past tense can make the description feel dry or outdated. Think about how you might talk to a friend. Yo ull probably have a conversational tone, and thats the same tone you should strive for when writing meta descriptions. Google Updates That Impact Meta Descriptions Google has made it very clear that meta descriptions do not factor in their algorithm when ranking websites. That might sound discouraging, but dont stop writing meta descriptions just yet. Your meta description will still impact the CTR, or the click-through rate. The better your meta description, the more people will click through to your link. Google does take the CTR into consideration when ranking pages. So, in a roundabout way, meta descriptions can impact your rankings over time.It is also important to know that in some cases, Google will override your meta description. If search engines dont feel that your meta description is accurate, or if they feel a different snippet of your webpage is a better representation of your content, they can replace your meta description with alternate content from your page.Meta des criptions are incredibly important, and they should be written with care. Once you understand the value of meta descriptions, youll start to see just how much they can impact everything from click-through rates to web traffic. With the right meta descriptions, your content will be seen by more users organically.

010 Syllabus and Introduction Professor Ramos Blog

010 Syllabus and Introduction Introductions Welcome to English 010, Preparation for College English at Crafton Hills College. We will be using the blog to post comments and final drafts of essays in order to help us learn from each other. One of the best ways to improve your writing is to study the writing of others. This blog will allow us to share and see others’ writings. I will also be posting updates and assignments to make sure we are all on the same page. The syllabus will be posted under Syllabus. The resources page with have links and videos to help you with citations, WordPress, and more. Textbook The textbook for this class is â€Å"They Say, I Say†Ã‚  with readings, 4th edition. Make sure to order the textbook that has the readings included! The cover should be bluish, not black. Introductions Ice breaker. In groups of 2 or 3 answer these questions. Name Major Like to read or write? 1 2 Interesting facts We will introduce one another. You have six minutes to answer the questions. Genre

Bread Mold Experiment

Bread Mold Experiment By: Stephanie Westover PURPOSE The purpose of this experiment will be to determine how temperature affects the growth of mold on wheat bread. The researchers choose this topic because she thinks it will be beneficial to find a way to keep food from molding. Determining how long bread can be stored before molding can help save money, prevent illness and preserve freshness. The question the researcher will attempt to answer is how freezing affects the rate of mold growth in wheat bread.The information gathered in this experiment may be relevant to those individuals who contend with food borne molds at home, or professionally. Because the rate of mold growth can vary depending on the type of bread tested, the researcher will limit this study to a commonly available variety of wheat bread that can found in most stores. This will make the results of this experiment more relevant to average consumers and it will enable the results to be generalized across a larger selection of commercially produced wheat breads. Having some understanding of common practices regarding food storage and mold growth, the researcher sought out formal studies of food borne mold growth to help develop my hypothesis. What the researcher discovered was that food storage at low temperature slows many of the enzymatic reactions involved in spoilage and reduces the growth rate of microorganisms. (Microsoft Encarta, 2007) This literature review shows that refrigeration slows the growth rate of mold. Further, the article demonstrated that refrigerators should be kept at temperatures 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit to minimize bacterial growth.In this procedure the researcher discovered that refrigeration does indeed slow the growth rate of mold. Many organisms will not grow at all or will grow at a slower rate if stored in low temperatures. While low temperatures are not bactericidal, the low temperatures do slow the growth rate of bacteria. Although a few microbes will grow in super cooled solutions as low as minus 20o c, most foods are well-preserved against microbial growth in the household freezer. (Todar, Kenneth, 2011) In this article it states that even a household freezer can preserve foods against growth of mold if set at the right temperature.The researcher discovered that the zip lock baggie that the freezer in this experiment did in fact preserve the bread against the growth of mold. DESIGN The experiment design will be as follows: The researcher will purchase a loaf of commercially produced wheat bread and record the rate of mold growth on that bread over a period of 10 days at three different temperatures. The researcher will use commercial grade thermometers placed in a standard refrigerator, freezer and kitchen countertop to measure temperature. A commercial grade thermometer was used as it is close to the same type used in a typical restaurant.The researcher will place one piece of bread in a clear, sealed zip lock bag and put one of those bags in each of the three temperatures zones. Zip lock baggies were chosen over any other standard container because it was t he best choice to keep out any bacteria that might give false results. She will remove each test bag from its controlled temperature zone and measure the mold growth on each piece of bread through the clear zip lock bag using a fractional ruler. The researcher will record those measurements in a log book noting the time, temperature variation if any, and size of mold growth in inches.She will then immediately replace the bag back into its respective temperature zone. The researcher will repeat those measurements for 10 days and summarize my findings at that time. The researcher will be using commercially available wheat bread so that the results of this experiment can be at least partially generalized to all commercial bread products. She will be using common temperature settings throughout the experiment to mimic what is found not only in most households, but also in many commercial food establishments.

Type of Federalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Type of Federalism - Essay Example Each of these has many departments, and each of these departments uses a suitable type of federalism when solving its issues (Dye, 2010). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the US government is concerned with preventing and disrupting terrorist attacks, protecting American citizens from any aggression, protecting infrastructural facilities and resources in the US, and enforcing immigration laws. In order to do this, the department patrols borders regularly, protects travelers, responds to emergencies and disasters, and also ensures that citizens are prepared for any form of emergency situations (Zimmerman, 2010). Cooperative federalism should be applied in homeland security issues since it would produce better results than the other types of federalism. Cooperative federalism requires that the federal government, local governments and state governments share responsibilities in governing the people. Therefore, applying cooperative federalism in the Department of Homeland security would ensure that all units of the federal government cooperate in ensuring that security of citizens is promoted and terrorism is combated from the grassroots. Cooperative Federalism would also ensure that illegal immigrations are prevented from local borders of all states. This form of federalism would also ensure that the state’s resources and infrastructural facilities are protected from destruction from the lowest government unit to the highest. If such measures were only directed at the level of the federal government, the mission of the department would not be realized at the level of the local government and the state government. New Federalism is analogous to Cooperative Federalism since it entails devolution of power from the Federal government to the state government. This type should also be applied by the DHS in solving issues as it would ensure that grass-root issues are solved. Permissive federalism should not be used by the DHS since it

U. S. Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

U. S. Constitution - Essay Example itution; â€Å"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people† (Tenth Amendment, 2012). In other words, state governments can make laws related to any issues which is not delegated to the federal government and prohibited to the state government. For example issues such as drink age, same sex marriages etc are issues which come under state’s jurisdiction. State governments have the authority to fix the drink age or legalize same sex marriage. On the other hand voting age is a federal matter and only the federal government will be able to raise or lower the voting age in America. Dual system in America has lot of merits as well as demerits. It is not necessary that the people in all the states may have same opinion on certain issue. The authority to make laws state-wise may help the states to formulate laws and policies based on the interests of the people. At the same time, state laws may create problems also. For example, underage drinking is prohibited in some American states whereas it is allowed in other states. In Alaska, minimum licensing age for driving is 14 whereas in Kentucky, it is 16. In other words, a teenager who is able to drive in Alaska cannot drive his car in Kentucky. In short, dual systems have its merits and

Country Lovers Essay Example for Free

Country Lovers Essay A story of forbidden love on a South African farm, one child nothing more than a farm worker, as the other one prepares for boarding school. Both ignorant to the color of their skins, all they knew they were best friends playing together until they grew up and then it was not allowed. But when Paulus turns fifteen and goes to school things start to change he begins to realize the difference between boys and girls, and then the consequences behind his actions, but then it’s too late to turn back. What drew me into this story was the title country lovers, and then the forbidden love on a South African farm I wanted to see what it was about, curios to know if it was about two people of different races falling in love, creating racial relationships in a place that forbid it. And that was exactly what it was, two kids playing together as kids, a boy white and girl black, everyday playing on his father’s farm. What I couldn’t understand was why they were able to play as kids but not be able to socialize when they got older. If it was because of racial boundaries, why not keep them apart even when they are kids, then it wouldn’t be so confusing. The literary term and concept that best describes they way I am feeling about this would be Imagination because it expresses how the author was feeling about racial differences and allows the reader to feel what the author is writing about. I am using the Reader – Response approach to analyze my story because it asks you to connect with the literature, and find a personal link or imaginative entry into a story. And that is what this author makes you do. While reading this story I had a lot of different emotions like why did he change when he went to school, but when he came home he was with thebedi. Even though he met people at school whose family’s was prosperous famer’s? He still was bringing gifts to thebedi, she making gifts for him and both lying about where they came from and why. They had been sneaking around for months, so when she was eighteen and the farmer’s son was nineteen he left for veterinary college, Njabulo’s parents asked Thebedi’s parents to marry their son and they agreed on it, not telling Paulus or Njabulo that she might be pregnant. When the baby was born looked nothing like Njabulo, but he still was going to take care of her as if she was his own. This would be Satire because he should feel anger but instead he is willing to take care of her. My thinking didn’t change because in that time that’s what happens when two different races mix and have children, I just thank god it’s not like that now to the extreme it was then. Because I love people for who they are not because of where they come from. Because of the author’s background growing up in South Africa I can understand why she feels this way, they have different traditions and beliefs. This was a very good story; I enjoyed reading it and feeling what they were going through.

Why Plea Bargaining in Criminal Trials is Important :: Plea Bargain Trial Court Justice Essays

Why Plea Bargaining in Criminal Trials is Important Screeech! That is the sound of our court system coming to a grinding halt, if plea bargaining were no longer utilized. Not only does plea bargaining save taxpayers an enormous amount of money, it often provides the evidence for a conviction and allows public defenders and other court officials to concentrate their limited resources on more important or difficult cases. Some people may believe that plea bargaining with criminals is wrong. The entire basis of the argument against plea bargaining says that criminals should not testify or have anything to do with the prosecution because they were involved with the crime. We fail to realize that without plea bargaining many criminals would never be punished for their crimes at all. It is as simple as that. Granted, a plea bargain is, by definition, a compromise. But it is a compromise that is absolutely necessary for the judicial system to function. While it may seem that a person who exchanges his testimony for a lighter sentence would have sufficient motivation to lie in court the fact is that his testimony is simply verifying the testimonies of other witnesses. In a majority of cases plea bargains is utilized to ensure that the truly guilty criminal is punished. In our less than perfect world, plea bargaining is easily the lesser of the evils. I agree with the definitions submitted by the affirmative speaker. Americans have always emphasized getting a job done. We place a great deal of value on efficiency and industry. The government is expected to run with efficiency and operate with the good of the people in mind. Every aspect of our lives is governed by this utilitarian value. Why do we place such importance on efficiency? Because without it nothing would ever get done. If we all constantly obsessed over minute details and unrealistic ideals we would live in poverty. In the real world compromises are made because without them no amount of success could ever be achieved. In the words of John Stewart Mill, the father of utilitarianism, "The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals utility, or the greatest happiness principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness". This means that in a world of compromise, the most success is achieved by giving the greatest good to the greatest number of people. This belief applies directly to plea bargaining.