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Are Meta Tags Really Worthless?

by admin on

in Starting Out

I have been studying and implementing SEO and article writing for a few years now, and I come across many articles and blog posts that claim that using meta tags is passe and doesn’t count toward anything. And because of the abuses of so many websites using hundreds and sometimes thousands of keywords stuffed into the meta tag structures, adding them to your website is not worth the time it takes to do the research and type out that research into a couple of sentences.

Once you think about it though, you have to ask yourself the question: Why do the Meta Tags exist then? And if they are useless, then why haven’t they retired or deleted them from HTML entirely? Good questions to ponder as you fill out your description and choice keywords for the particular page you are working on.

Now, with Word Press style websites, getting your website’s SEO information into each page and post is as easy as following a few pointers and answering a few questions. The first thing I would suggest then, because you are most likely doing your own updating, is to use the SEO plugin Yoast.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-seo/

The reason I suggest this is because your site has absolutely no meta data that counts towards your keywords, description or location, and meta data holds information of the SEO kind, it was added into HTML for crawlers and bots from the beginning. These spiders come over and read the first few lines of your site and get a nice meal of what you want them to know and take back to their home about your site.

The Yoast SEO plugin has easy to understand language and visuals to help you achieve your best results. Below is a picture of this homepage’s first few lines. Even though many developers will tell you that meta data has no bearing because of abuse over time, look at what you get if you don’t add these few lines. I know, I already filled out the description, but if I didn’t, that line would be missing.
Barely a meta tag that says anything. Lets face it, not every web directory has the sophistication and army of implementing contingencies as Google might have, and if you add in the meta data, you know even the most simple bot will get your message. Here is another capture of this page after implementing a couple of SEO meta tags.
As the picture shows, now the bots, spiders and crawlers have some food to chew on and the best part is the description on this page will probably end up as the information that Google will put under the Title when it comes to the listing of this page. In other words, I can somewhat control what will show up in the listings just by using the description meta tag.

And don’t be intimidated by plugins. While there are many that are flops and don’t work, there are jewels available out there as well, that can make your life easier and make your site rock.

And if you have never installed a plugin before, then here are the instructions with pictures, so you can do it too.

Installing a plugin:
Inside your admin panel, press the Plugins button and then press the Add New.
Type:Yoast at the search line and press Search Plugins.
WordPress SEO by Yoast should be the first one on the list. Click the install now button and then click ok at the dialog box.
Press the Activate Plugin button.

This will start the plugin, and a dialog of Congratulations will open up. You can start your tour of the plugin and what it has in store for the SEO of your website.

Search Engine Optimization will help to get your page to show up first on local Google searches and while you are putting the care and attention into your website, you might as well take a few moments to capsulize the current page you are working on and write a description that drives visitors to your site. Optimizing each page for keywords and at least a description is a must to gain ranking. Lets face it, if words aren’t there, what’s a bot supposed to digest?

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Need Help With A Web Design?

by admin on

in Aim

Whether we like it or not, when it comes to web design, making up your mind on the design you want to use is one of the toughest decisions you are going to have to make regarding your site.

If you are afraid that you won’t like what you see when you get done with the design part, or if you are brazen and want to try all kinds of designs until you are satisfied with the look, but not spend the money, then perhaps using a Word Press blog style site is right up your alley.

Designs With Multiple Databases

Reservation & Blog Combo

Individual or Corporate Sites

Not Your Typical Blog

Doctors, Lawyers and Professionals

Professional Resume Sites

Ecommerce

E-Commerce Stores

When you first start a web property you might think that once you’ve made a decision to go one direction, you have to live with that, and you won’t be able to go in any other direction. The beauty with a web design in Word Press is that not only is it flexible, it can be something that you can always add to or change at any time, and in instances where you have a blog based website, the dramatic change from one style to another is sometimes just one simple click away.

Depending on what type of site that you are really looking for, it used to be that you would have to live with an HTML website. A lot has changed since the only way to put together a website was to use HTML and CSS. Thank goodness, good programmers have evolved making sites over the years by creating frameworks and easy to use interfaces and themes that allow the ordinary person to create a website without any real technical knowledge at all.

There is a slight drawback though, by using a theme in Word Press, you are pretty much stuck with whatever the designer of the theme created for you. If you like a particular theme because of the colors, or the pictures being used, but you would rather have the index on the right side versus the left, you’re pretty much stuck with what exists unless you know how to program in PHP. If you want a change of color and the theme doesn’t provide the access or a button you can click to change the color of lets say the background, you need to know CSS, and where to apply it.

Careful, Analogy Ahead:
A Word Press blog is really a framework with a loop, that gets applied to a theme in much the same way as we change from one set of clothes to another to change our look, but our skeleton stays the same. The information that you create in posts and pages gets rearranged and reformatted to match the theme’s layout you have chosen and can change the look from being dull and lifeless to vibrant and full of interaction, you provide the content and pictures.

YourFirstAttempt.com is based on the Thesis Word Press theme framework that we have available to use in the development of our clients websites when a canned theme is not enough. We believe that having a robust framework makes our job easier, and enhances our customers experience by creating rock solid sites with all the professional additions a client would ever need.

As someone who is running a business, and quite possibly only having enough time to do that properly, your web designer should be someone who can do more than just put a theme on a website and hand it to you. You need someone you can sit down with and explain how you want it done without excuses. If your web designer either doesn’t have time or can’t do what you need them to do then write us or call us, because we both know you deserve better, and we would do our best to give you the competitive advantage.

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You Have A Domain Name In Mind… What’s Next?

by admin on

in Starting Out

Your first experience at creating a website doesn’t have to be a harrowing and expensive one. Having the information of what to do next is key to having a successful site. If everything is laid out in front of you so you can understand your options, you will be able to make the best decisions and know what awaits you on your first attempt.

One critical flaw that is inherent of this adventure, because it has such a techno-geek misnomer, is to go into it without any knowledge or understanding. One of the first mistakes some people make is to think that they can get through the whole process without even learning the basics. While this is certainly true, and you can just pay to have it all done. The more you understand about how all of the components come together and that they are pretty much separate from each other, but need to be coordinated and meshed together much like the building of a house, the more money and headaches you can save in the long run.

People can understand the design aspect or creativity part because they can see it on screen, but rarely do they understand the structure underlying why they see what they see. We are going to uncover what lies beneath and dig around to discover the small things that will make it so you won’t be fooled, and might even be able to negotiate a better outcome if you are already in a situation that you feel is out of your control.

So, you have a really great idea for a website and you want to go forward with it, but what’s next?

Here is a very short list of what lies ahead:

Domain Name Buying
Hosting Provider – Houses Your Site(s)
Web Design: Static Pages or Blog Style
Buying Online Advertising Through Major Search Engines
Momentum – Building Your Reputation and Your Popularity Online
SEO – Search Engine Optimization
Maintenance and Updating

How do you manage your life and get into the internet opportunities without having to learn everything or losing your way? The easy answer is to find a professional and pay them the big bucks and let them worry about it. Sometimes you get what you pay for, and then again sometimes not. The harder answer is to find someone who is knowledgeable enough and willing to help you through each step and will do this for your protection as well as your success, without costing you an arm and a leg.

With lack of knowledge or experience you leave yourself vulnerable to all sorts of what we like to describe as shiny objects. They are offers that show up in your e-mail in-box almost every day. Promising the world in a week or riches overnight, the internet is chock full of smooth talkers. Their videos will quickly sell you an e-book on how to start an email list or how to do some black hat SEO marketing, or some other small part of what you really need. You only walk away with half truths and things that don’t necessarily apply to you, or that you can’t apply, especially when you are working on your first attempt.

So, How do you get the most bang for your buck?

Read this site and glean as much as you can. We have information that will help you achieve your goals and become savvy in internet speak. As far as who we take on as clients, we like people who know what they want and have a sound knowledge of what is truly possible, which we feel can only be done through education and effort.

We would like to help you succeed, and this website is here to help you achieve a basic understanding so you can hit a bulls-eye when you are ready for your first attempt.

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