Meta Tags are hidden HTML tags used in the HEAD section of your web pages to provide information about your website or web page to search engines. Most major search engines index Meta Tags for use in their search results. Listed below is a definition of each Meta Tag together with an idea of what content you need to place inside.  Where possible, this information should be customised for each individual web page:

Title — Enter the Title of your web page.

Description — The description that will often appear in the search results of many search engines. Enter 2 to 3 sentences that describe your site or web page. You should limit it to 160 characters.

Keywords — Keywords or keyword phrases that apply to the subject of your web page. Keywords and keyword phrases should be listed in order of importance. Separate each keyword or keyword phrase with commas and keep the length of the entire list under 255 characters.

Robots — This meta tag tells a search engine how to index your site from a given web page. Index means that the search engine should index this page, Noindex means that it should not. Follow means that it should follow any other links to your other pages, Nofollow means it should not. Generally you would select index and follow to instruct a search engine to index that page and the rest of your site.

Copyright — Enter your copyright information.

Language — Select the language that your web page uses.

Small Business Website Design – What Do I Put On My First Website?

Creating your first website can feel overwhelming and intimidating.
The words and images on your website are often known as it’s content.

Creating website content can be a daunting task if you’ve never written for the internet. It doesn’t work to just transfer the kind of content you would use offline into the online world.

The internet is an entirely different creation, a completely different medium and you need to really understand how people think in order to write for it well.

Let’s start by going over some of the most common and important website pages:
Home page – This is the main page of your site. It’s the page people will land on if they type your domain name into their internet browser. So how do you make sure you don’t mess this page up and end up driving people away? Use your home page to capture the attention of your potential customer or client. Call their name by understanding them as a person with a specific need or problem that you can help with. Know their language and use it. Don’t save the good stuff for later because there may never be a later – get it out there and grab their interest from the start.
About page – It’s a mistake to leave this page off your website. People routinely go to the About Page to find out about a company or a business owner. They want to know they can trust you and that you’re a real person. Create a detailed about page that assures their worries and confirms that you’re just the type of business they’ll love to work with.
Products or Services pages – Of course you’ll need to showcase what you have to sell. Make sure you clearly state what it is you have to offer and give your visitors calls to action. Don’t just assume people will see your stuff and know what to do next – spell it out for them!
Contact page – Another essential website page that builds trust. Even if a potential customer has no intent to actually content you it’s very likely they’ll check your contact page to confirm you are a legitimate business. Prove your legitimacy by posting your name, position, phone number, email AND physical or mailing address. The location is important because it’s much less suspicious than having no way to track you down physically should problems arise.
Privacy Policies & Disclaimers – Legally it’s a smart idea to have some privacy policies and disclaimers added to your website.
Every website is different. What you write for your site is going to depend largely on your target market and what they respond to. Pay attention to how your visitors react and do what you can to track – then tweak as you go to improve your content and the response it gets.

By Angela Wills

When customers don’t stay on your website for long, it’s
hardly surprising you fail to connect with them and build
the trust needed for them to get out their credit cards and
buy from you.

The great news for you is there are tons of quick and easy ways to make your website more appealing to your customers.

Here’s 5 you can apply today.

1. Site Search
When you have more than 20 pages, it’s a good idea to add a
search facility. If you have a site search, make sure it’s
prominent. Usability guidelines tend to prefer the
upper-right corner of the page. Keep the button label
simple and clear – “Search” still works best for most
sites. Don’t unleash your powers of lateral thinking and
swap in a word like “Retrieve”. Keep it simple.

To Do: Just using your search, try to find 3 pages of
content. Is that process “quick, easy and straight-forward?”
Or is it “hit and miss?”

2. Ensure Your Webpages Can Be Skim-read Easily
Few people read word for word online; the vast majority
skim-read to get a sense of the page before they read any
of it in detail. Make it easy for visitors to skim-read
your content. Always use headings and bullets to break up
text.

Think about it. If a heading is not relevant for your
visitor, they can easily skim down to the next heading,
making it straightforward for them to get directly to the
information they need.

Always keep your text in manageable chunks, not an unbroken
wall of words like insurance small print, so it’s easier for
customers to look up what they want right away and with
confidence – which is critical if they are making a buying
decision.

To Do: Give your website a quick review and make sure all
your text is broken up into clear, manageable sections.

3. Keep Your Styles & Colours Consistent
Make sure people know they’re still on your site by being
consistent – confuse them and you’ll lose them. Keep the
look and feel of your website sections consistent and avoid
any radical changes. Visitors can get confused and think
they have left your site accidentally.

Layout, headings, and styles should be consistent site-wide,
and colors should usually have the same meaning.

For example, don’t use red for headers on one page, red for
hyperlinks on another, and red as standard text somewhere
else.

To Do: Ensure all your web pages appear to be part of the
main site and that they are consistent with each other. Are
there any “nasty surprises” depending on the part of the
site you’re in?

4. Use Emphasis (bold, etc.) Sparingly
It’s a fact of human psychology: try to draw attention to
everything and you’ll effectively draw attention to nothing.
We’ve all seen that site, the one with a red, blinking,
underlined “NEW!” next to everything. Don’t be that guy or
gal.

Remember, if your site’s graphic design is counter-intuitive
and doesn’t help visitors get something done quickly, it’s
going to make your site much slower and difficult to work
with.

Slow, awkward sites never, ever, ever, delight your customer
or create a good rapport online.

Visitors will be back at the search engine in seconds if
they find your website “complicated” or “busy”.

To Do: Ensure your website is only highlighting critical
factors you absolutely need your visitors to gaze at or
click on in order to meet your online business goals. Menus,
buy buttons, opt-in boxes and so on.

5. Keep Your Ads & Pop-ups Unobtrusive
Ads are a fact of life, but integrate them nicely into your
site. Don’t try to force ads and pop-ups down peoples’
throats; you’ll end up creating frustration for your
visitors. Also, do people a favor and make your ads clear.
If you blur the line between ads and content too much, your
content may suffer, since many people have developed “banner
blindness” when it comes to surfing, and might overlook some
important content by mistake.

To Do: Double check if your pop-up window is significantly
increasing your opt-in rate. If it isn’t, you could be
annoying present and future customers unnecessarily.

Final Word

Always make sure you view your website through the eyes of
the customer and not through your eyes, the website owner.

Make sure there are no red-flags on your site that are going
to frustrate, confuse or bore customers. Keep everything nice
and simple to make sure your visitors enjoy spending time
(and money) on your site