Search Engine Optimization | Carl Ocab

What Are Meta Tags? Add These 5 Important Tags for SEO

Carl Ocab — Wed, 20 May 2020 15:46:28 +0000

Back in 2006, when I was just introduced to the world of SEO, meta tags were the “craze”. Everyone was talking about stuffing their meta tags with keywords–and it worked. Meta tags were a big ranking factor back then even though it’s easy to manipulate.

Of course, Google was able to detect that right away and gave less importance to meta tags. Even though it’s not a strong ranking factor as before, it’s still an essential part of SEO.

What Are Meta Tags?

Meta tags are codes inside the tag that provide information about the page to search engines and browsers. That’s why meta tags are still important. Without them, search engines and browsers would have a difficult time figuring out what your page is about.

Add These 5 Meta Tags to Your Site

The list below is the 5 most important meta tags for SEO. Use these tags correctly and it will help Google rank your sites for your keywords.

1. Title Tag

The title tag tells search engines what a page is about. It’s the title that shows up on the tab of your browser. It’s also the title that usually shows up in the search results. I said usually because sometimes Google doesn’t use a page’s title tag if it thinks there’s a more relevant title it can use in its search results.

Here are some dos and don’ts when writing your title tag:

Do:

Add your keywords in the title tag
Put the most important keywords first
Use 40-60 characters
Write attractive titles (Not only will you get more clicks, but you’ll also get better rankings eventually through RankBrain)

Don’t:

Stuff your title tag with keywords only
Use ALL CAPS on unnecessary words
Use repeat variations of your main keyword (Google understands variations of your keywords. That’s why if you optimize for the keyword “seo”, you’ll also rank for “search engine optimization”)

Example: What Are Meta Tags? Add These 5 Important Tags on Your Site

Here’s what it will look like on Google:

2. Meta Description

The meta description tag is used for one purpose: to describe the page to searchers as they read through search results.

Meta descriptions can help you get better rankings… indirectly. It’s the text that appears at the bottom of the URL of a result on Google. People read it. It’s part of the copy of your website.

If you write an attractive meta description that gets people to click on your search result, then like the title tag’s influence on ranking via RankBrain, the meta description will indirectly affect your rankings, too.

Example:

Here’s what it will look like on Google:

3. Meta Robots

The meta robots tag tells search engines what to do and what not to do on a certain page.

We use this tag here at carlocab.com because there are some pages on our site that we don’t want indexed. For instance, we don’t want Google to index our success page. It’s where our visitors go to after they use our contact forms. It has thin content and we don’t want it part of Google’s record of our site.

These are the most common meta robot commands:

noindex – This prevents Google from indexing the page.
nofollow – This tells Google not to follow any links on the page.
noarchive – This prevents Google from showing a cached version of the page.

If you want Google to index and follow the links in a page, you do not need to use a meta robots tag as Google, by default, indexes and follows links on a page,

Example:

4. Meta Viewport

The meta viewport tag tells Google that the page is mobile-friendly. This is important for SEO as Google has implemented mobile-first indexing on most sites.

Paste the sample code below if your page is mobile-friendly. If you’re using WordPress, this is automatically added to the code of your site.

Example:

5. Rel Canonical

The rel canonical tag is crucial to avoid on-site duplicate content. Yes, duplicate content can happen within your site–on the same URL.

Did you know that you can show different content on www.domain.com and domain.com? That’s why Google treats those two as two different websites if you don’t redirect one from the other. Google also treats these URLs as different pages if left with no rel canonical tag:

http://www.domain.com
http://domain.com
https://www.domain.com
https://domain.com
https://www.domain.com/index.html
https://domain.com/index.html

You can tell Google which is the main URL by using the rel canonical tag. Aside from using the rel canonical tag, it’s good practice to canonicalize your domain as well by implementing 301 redirects.

Example:

Avoid The Meta Keywords Tag

Forget about it. It only worked before. However, people took advantage of it by stuffing huge amounts of keywords on it so Google stopped using it.

Other Meta Tags

These are tags that you can do without but can be useful for different sites for specific circumstances.

Social meta tags – This tag is not important for SEO but can be helpful for social media. If you correctly set up the 5 important meta tags above, your posts will look good on social media so this tag won’t be necessary.
Language – There’s no need to use this meta tag unless your site is not in English, which will require you to declare the main language used in pages.
Geo tag – This meta tag is not supported by Google. If you want to geo-target your site, verify it via Google Search Console and use the international targeting tool.
Site verification tags – If you’re trying to verify your site on Google Search Console or some SEO tool, you may be required to paste a small snippet of meta tag that includes a verification code.
Rating tag – This tag indicates the maturity rating of a page. If your website does not contain adult content, you don’t have to think about this tag.

The post What Are Meta Tags? Add These 5 Important Tags for SEO appeared first on Carl Ocab.

What Are Outbound Links? Are They Good for SEO?

Carl Ocab — Mon, 04 May 2020 09:38:03 +0000

Links are what makes the world wide web, a web–sites linking out to other websites. Links pointing from point A to point B.

However, there are many types of links. Today, we’ll be discussing outbound links. What are they? Are they important for SEO? How many is too much? We’ll answer those questions below.

What Are Outbound Links?

Outbound links are links that point from your site to another site. Most, if not all, websites have outbound links. They are used to reference other articles, share information from other sites, link to social media profiles, and more.

Its counterpart is inbound links. Inbound links are links from other sites pointing to your site. They are also called backlinks. These links are extremely important for SEO as these links determine the authority of your website. Inbound links are a different topic altogether. However, if you want to read more about it, here’s a good article on how to build backlinks. (By the way, that link points to another site, that is an example of an outbound link!)

What Are The Types of Outbound Links?

There are two types of outbound links. They are dofollow and nofollow.

Dofollow Links

Dofollow links pass link juice. This type of link passes authority. If you have a dofollow link from an authoritative site, you’re getting some of that site’s authority. It’s like a trusted individual vouched for you; most people would think you’re a stand-up guy, too. Generally, this is the type of link that you want for SEO.

Nofollow Links

Nofollow links do not pass link juice. But, it doesn’t mean that they’re useless for SEO. Nofollow links are often used if you’re unsure if the site you’re linking to is trustworthy. This is commonly used on blog comments and other user-generated content that may contain an outbound link.

Nofollow links from other websites can be good for SEO, too. In fact, Google “expects” several nofollow links pointing to your site. These “expected” links come from social media profiles, trusted directories, online maps, etc.

A nofollow link may look like this: rel=”nofollow”>Site

Why Are Outbound Links Important for SEO?

Outbound links are a ranking factor. Authoritative sites link to other trustworthy sites. So, always remember to link to other relevant authority sites. It shows relevance and enhances your credibility.

Aside from its direct SEO benefits, linking to other sites will likely result in those websites noticing you. They are webmasters, too, and they monitor their backlinks. If you have great content, one way or another, they may link back to your content as well.

How Many Outbound Links Per Page?

There is no exact number. However, this study only used two hyperlinks, and they’ve seen definitive results.

In our SEO Services, we usually practice adding 2-3 dofollow outbound links to authority sites per page we optimize. But, whatever feels natural is OK. Take a look at this post, there are more than 3 outbound links here. But it’s OK because it’s the natural thing to do. I’m talking about a lot of topics, and I have to reference a lot of stuff.

Are a Lot of Outbound Links Bad for SEO?

If the links point to relevant authority websites and their placement is natural, no. But, if you put a bunch of irrelevant links that offer no value, especially if those links point to low-quality spammy sites, it’s going to be a problem.

What Are The Cons of Outbound Links?

Even if it doesn’t hurt your site’s SEO, you have to keep in mind that outbound links may drive visitors away from your site as it points them to a different website. Determine the purpose of the page first. If it’s for SEO, then feel free to add relevant outbound links. If the page’s purpose is to capture leads like a squeeze page, then you may have to think again.

Key Takeaways

Outbound links to relevant authority sites are good for SEO.
Outbound links to spammy irrelevant sites are bad for SEO.
Dofollow links pass link juice–the type of link you want for SEO.
Nofollow links do not pass link juice, but they still have some positive SEO effects.
Add 2-3 outbound links to relevant authority sites per page you optimize. More is OK, so long as it’s natural and adds value to the page.

The post What Are Outbound Links? Are They Good for SEO? appeared first on Carl Ocab.

How to Create Engaging Social Media Content That Gets You Higher SERP Rank

Andre Conferido — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 05:08:11 +0000

Social signals? Does it really help increase SEO rank?

Google’s Matt Cutts said that social signals do not affect search rankings. Perhaps. However, if something you posted on social media becomes viral, your page will be talked about, which means that your website gets exposed, which will gather a lot of traffic, which will help you get links.

It may not be a search engine ranking factor but social signals still can have significant effects on your SEO. So how exactly do you get a post viral and on top of the SERP ranks, how do you make people like, share, vote, pin, or view your post? Yeah, you can pay advertisements to market your post, but the best way is through making sure that the content you post is engaging, free, and fun. Lucky for you, I know exactly what to do.

Know Your Audience for Your Audience Knows Best

Make content that targets a specific audience, spy on them if you have to, just make sure that you are aware of their demographic data and understand their interests and preferences, this will allow you to create quality content that they can easily associate with. Understanding where you post is also important. People on Twitter and Facebook would love humorous content, but I doubt that comedy would be appealing on Google+ and LinkedIn.

Be Imaginative with Your Content

Explore the various types of content. Use images, videos, infographics, and memes. Also, consider conjuring up challenges or contests, most people are innately competitive, remember the Ice bucket challenge?

Asking your audience a question and making a poll where they can vote is also an excellent way to engage your audience. Lastly, provide some tips and some incentives. These are highly effective ways to make your post get noticed.

Be in the Moment

You need to make a content that is base on recent news and breakthroughs in your industry. Follow trends that your audience is also following. People long for information that is currently hot, popular, and in demand.

Regularly Connect with Your Audience

Don’t forget to reply to comments and provide feedback on inquiries. Be sure to you let your audience know that you appreciate their participation. Flirt a little by liking-back, sharing, and retweeting some of your audience’s posts. Consistently create high-quality content and make updates so that your audience will easily be familiar with your brand. Familiarity is an excellent way to get followers and make fans.

Don’t Fear Controversy

Create controversial content. Topics that most people have strong opinions about tend to go viral. Don’t provide your personal opinion, rather, be neutral. Let your audience square off their views and don’t take sides.

The post How to Create Engaging Social Media Content That Gets You Higher SERP Rank appeared first on Carl Ocab.

Google Now Protects Users From Deceptive Pages

Andre Conferido — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 14:18:06 +0000

It’s on! The battle between social engineering attacks and Google has begun. Of course, all Google wants is to protect its users.

Google’s Safe Browsing initiative have been protecting loads of people from sleazy websites and phishing attacks for 8 years. Last November, they announced that Safe browsing would protect us from social engineering attacks as well. Thanks Google, how thoughtful!

What Are Social Engineering Attacks?

These are the deceptive tactics that trick users into clicking a button or image which installs unwanted software or make users reveal personal information, such as passwords, phone numbers, or credit card information.

These deceptive embedded content are those that disguise like a trusted entity which tries to lure users into making a horrible mistake. They pose as trusted images which make them dangerously deceitful. Here are some examples of deceptive content.

Those that mimics a dialogue from FLV software developer: Install button

Those claiming that your software is out of date: Update button

And in most file-sharing and streaming sites: download button and play button.

How many times have you clicked on those only to be redirected to harmful sites which push unwanted software downloads and updates or offers subscription traps, job-opportunityand quick money making schemes. Don’t worry, you are not alone. These fake buttons blend in and are often not recognizable from the rest of the page. They mimic the site’s look.

Thankfully Google, in their newest announcement titled “No More Deceptive Download Buttons“, said that they would be expanding Safe Browsing protection and would be targeting all those issues mentioned above.

While under the protection of Google, those users who use Chrome browser who encounters social engineering attacks will be presented with an image having this kind of message.

Google will flag down websites that contain social engineering content. This protection will create a much safer browsing experience and will protect users from frustration, bad advertisers, scammers, and maybe even viruses.

The post Google Now Protects Users From Deceptive Pages appeared first on Carl Ocab.

3 Link Building Failures Your Business Should Avoid

Andre Conferido — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 06:46:21 +0000

Link building is a challenging task. In fact, the link building tactics of an SEO agency may be the defining factor of an experienced agency to an agency that’s just full of promises.

Backlinks are still the #1 search engine ranking factor. That’s why caution must be implemented because search engines take this very seriously. Some people tend to forget that search engines are almost omnipotent these days compared to 5 years ago where there are tons of loopholes to manipulate.

Link Building is a strategy. There are numerous ways to get backlinks. There are good ways and bad ways. We must learn the proper guidelines and which strategies to avoid. Misguided efforts to build up links cause more harm than good.

Here are 3 Link Building Failures and the ways to avoid them.

1. Spam – Because It’s Only for Eating

Spamming is a common black hat strategy, there are numerous kinds of spam and some of the most common spams are:

A. Forum Spam

This refers to posting on forum threads for the sole intention of getting backlinks. Webmasters who uses this strategy creates profile spams, joins different forums and posts their backlinks on different threads.