Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio – What is a Snippet?
While SEO marketing is focused on using analytics to choose the right keywords for your business to elevate it to the first page of search results, snippets are exactly what they sound like they would be. You know when you do a Google search and your result page has the blue-lettered title with a couple of sentences of wording below that? Those couple of sentences are known as a snippet. Google auto-generates these snippets by accounting for both page content and other web references to the page. However, just because these are auto generated does not mean you have no control over what wording is used in your Houston, Dallas, Austin, or San Antonio business website snippets.
What is the Difference Between Snippets, Featured Snippets and Other SEO in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio?
A snippet is the short website description as mentioned above. A featured snippet is the one snippet Google chooses to be featured in response to a search. Not all searches result in a featured snippet, but those which do will often be in one of the following forms:
A definition
A table
A step-by-step guide
A list.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is using the right combination of key words and phrases used in your online presence to place your business as high as possible on the search engine results page. The desired outcome of SEO is always page one of the search engine results pages. It is important to note, almost all the featured snippets come from page one websites. This is why it is important to hire a knowledgeable and experienced small business and enterprise SEO consultant to boost your website onto page one of search results.
How do I Improve My Houston, Dallas, Austin or San Antonio Website’s Snippet?
· Be Descriptive
Let’s say you need a book on how to build a house. You go to the bookstore and buy the book “How to Build A House.” However, every chapter of the book is also titled, “How to Build A House.” How are you supposed to know which chapter covers the information you currently need? The same concept holds true for the page titles on your website. Each page should have a unique and descriptive title so users are able to read the title and know what information to expect when they click.
· Be Concise
Avoid using too many words to title your page. Since Google uses approximately 60 characters in their title listings, long titles will be cut short on the search engine results page. Choose a title that adequately describes the page in as few words as possible.
· Don’t Stuff the Title
If you stuff the title full of words that are similar, it could cause Google to think your page is spam. No one wants that! Instead of using variations of the same word or words repeatedly in your page title, use a clear description that is concise and to the point.
· Don’t Repeat the Title
Title each page of your website with a unique title. If every page of your website is entitled “Best Marketing Company Houston” it is not helpful to the user in distinguishing which page holds the information they need.
· It is Okay to Brand Each Page’s Title
While you do not want to title each page exactly the same, it is okay to title them with your company/brand name and a description. To borrow from our above example, Best Marketing Company Houston: About Us, Contact Us, etc. is useful to the person who is conducting the search.
· Allow Search Engines to Crawl Your Pages
You may be able to keep a search engine from crawling your pages, but this will not necessarily keep them from indexing your pages. The search engine may find your page via a link from a different site. If the search engine cannot access your page, it may have to fill in the blanks as best it can utilizing information from the sites that led it to you. To maintain control over what information is displayed, it is better to allow search engines to crawl your web pages.
SEO and Snippets for Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio Businesses
Creating quality content for your website is not difficult. However, directing traffic to your website can be a challenge. While having good snippets is important, it isn’t the only thing. Your business website needs to be on the front page of search engine results and it needs to have quality snippets. The best way to assure this is to hire an experienced SEO consultant to handle all your SEO needs.