Keyword character counts in Meta tags
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 11:18 am
I cannot tell you how many times I am asked:
For instance: Google titles and descriptions displayed on Google search results are a tad shorter than MSN and Yahoo titles and descriptions.
So how many are we allowed? The answer is you are allowed as many keyword phrases or characters as you want, but you are better off following the search engines guidelines and proven meta tags strategies. Guidelines for each engine are different and there are also many proven meta tags strategies that work well.
Here is an example of a page header that would work well in Google search engine: (characters = amount of letters, commas, and spaces in your meta tags)
Google Character Counts:
Title = 60 characters or about 8-9 words
Description = 150 characters or about 25 words
Keywords = 1000 characters or about 45 words (Google no longer uses keywords meta tag)
Other Search Engine Character Counts:
Title = 80 characters or about 9-10 words
Description = 200 characters or about 25-30 words
Keywords = 1000 characters or about 45 words
There are Meta tags generators out there that can create the correct character length for each meta tag used, but I notice they all use different numbers depending on the tool you use. In my opinion this is mainly because each major search engine and browser displays different amounts of characters depending on which you are using.How many keywords or characters is too many for my page header title, description tag and keywords tag?
For instance: Google titles and descriptions displayed on Google search results are a tad shorter than MSN and Yahoo titles and descriptions.
So how many are we allowed? The answer is you are allowed as many keyword phrases or characters as you want, but you are better off following the search engines guidelines and proven meta tags strategies. Guidelines for each engine are different and there are also many proven meta tags strategies that work well.
Here is an example of a page header that would work well in Google search engine: (characters = amount of letters, commas, and spaces in your meta tags)
Google Character Counts:
Title = 60 characters or about 8-9 words
Description = 150 characters or about 25 words
Keywords = 1000 characters or about 45 words (Google no longer uses keywords meta tag)
Here is an example of a page header that would work well in other search engines like MSN and Yahoo:<head>
<title>Build Custom Widgets - Buy Silver Widgets - Widget Accessory</title>
<meta name="description" content="Widgets.com provides custom widgets you can build. Buy silver widgets or a silver widget accessory for you or a loved one. Free widget gift available!"
<meta name="keywords" content="Build custom widgets, buy silver widgets, widget accessory, silver widget accessory, free widget gift, wedding occasion gift, birthday gift for loved one, special anniversary gift, widgets seattle wa, seattle washington widgets, special occasion gift for loved one, complete widget package, elegant custom widgets."
</head>
Other Search Engine Character Counts:
Title = 80 characters or about 9-10 words
Description = 200 characters or about 25-30 words
Keywords = 1000 characters or about 45 words
Finding the fine line between each search engines guidelines is key to success in meta content creation and use. Once you have practiced writing it will become more natural for you to put words and phrases together in sentences and text on and off the page!!<head>
<title>Build Custom Widgets - Buy Silver Widgets - Widget Accessory Seattle Washington</title>
<meta name="description" content="Widgets.com provides custom widgets you can build. Buy silver widgets or a silver widget accessory for you or a loved one. Gifts for wedding occasions, loved one birthdays and special anniversary."
<meta name="keywords" content="Build custom widgets, buy silver widgets, widget accessory, silver widget accessory, free widget gift, wedding occasion gift, birthday gift for loved one, special anniversary gift, widgets seattle wa, seattle washington widgets, special occasion gift for loved one, complete widget package, elegant custom widgets."
</head>