Marketing / SEO Question

[JamesMason67]

On the google organic listings there are three distinct lines of text..

1) The main heading, large blue writing.
2) The domain or page name in green.
3) Some info about the business in smaller less bold grey/black text. Mine currently reads..

The Edinburgh Stonemason Company have 30 years experience in the stonemason industry. We have the experience, professionalism and expertise in stone ...


Hope that makes sense so far.

What are these 3 elements called please and how important is it to have keywords in 1) and 3)?

In 3) if keywords arent important in this part I thought it may make sense to put some sort of enticing offer in their instead of keywords. I thought it may encourage more clicks.

If keywords are best how far can I go with them? Stuff them in or gently does it?

Any info would be much appreciated,
Thank you,
James

 

[OldWelshGuy]

1) The main heading is the page title, it is ABSOLUTELY crucial to have your keywords in there.

2) is the page URL, when setting up the site it is good to have the keywords in there, but the benefit of having them in there is outweighed by the aging a(history) within google of the old url i.e./ not worth changing after indexing.

3) is the snippet (as google refer to it), it can either be the description you have set, or it can be a Google created snippet. If you have crafted it properly then the description will show. This description holds no weight whatsoever in Google, so it is the perfect time to sell your services.

So you could use (for example)

search term = Edinburgh Stonemason

The Edinburgh Stonemason Company have been satisfying clients for over 30 years Great prices, great service, FREE quotes, call 555 555 555 or click below to visit us.....

 

[UKSBD]

1. is the title what you put in <title> </title> in the head.
I think most would agree it is about the most important place to get keywords/phrases

2. Generally the URL
Minimal importance, too long and it will get snipped anyway, can help visually if keyword is showing, but don't worry too much about it.

3. Depends on what the searcher searched for, sometimes pulls a snippet from content on the page, but if the word/phrase searched for is in your meta description that tends to get favoured.
Doesn't help rankings but if it reads well it might entice more clicks.

 

[JamesMason67]

This is great guys, thank you. So, there is no need to have keywords in the description at all? All my competitors seem to. In the main heading, Can I cram keywords in there or do I have to be careful?
Thanks again,
James

 

[OldWelshGuy]

It is meant to talk TO the reader, so natural language is king. Filling it full of keywords will be clunky and will cost trust and result in a lower click through rate.

Nice, relaxed, informative, inviting.

no need to keyword stuff. that is old style poor SEO.

 

[Codefixer]

1. Page Title

a) Page title is the most important ranking factor
b) Keywords at the start of the title carry more weight than at the end
c) Keywords in an exact match string carry more weight
d) For a *rough* idea of number of characters that Google is currently showing in the page title do a few searches and count

2. Keyword in URL

a) IMHO very important e.g. yoursite.com/stone-restoration will carry more ranking value than yoursite.com?id=123, and remember keyword matches in all 3 are bolded

3. GWT gives you an idea of the CTR on your listings, so if you're in a decent position and getting relatively poor CTR then you might look at changing the meta description.

Also running Adwords ads might help you test a number of descriptions and use the best as your meta description.

 

[JamesMason67]

Thanks very much. I will be sure to act on this.
James

 

[fisicx]

The key to all of this is to write for people not the search engines. Your listings in Google are part of your marketing mix, the words people see should make them want to click your link not those of your competitors. This means spending as much time on these components as you do on any other part of your site.

 

[JamesMason67]

Thank you Fisicx, makes a lot of sense.
James