Melius Weideman
web-visibility.co.za
web-usability.co.za
Hyperlinks &
Metatags
COPYRIGHT: Melius Weideman 2013 e-WebVisSE-5-Content
Anchor Text?
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+ _
Remember the Weideman models?...
Melius Weideman
web-visibility.co.za
web-usability.co.za
Hyperlink definition
Anchor Text definition
A Hyperlink is a point on a webpage where, if you click on that point, you are
transferred to another point on the same or a different webpage, which could
be on the same server or on one halfway around the world from you
Anchor text is the readabale, clickable text part inside the code of a
hyperlink, normally blue underlined in the browser window
Anchor Text format
Anchor text should be well-written, short, SEO friendly text, highly indicative
of what the user can expect on the target webpage
Hyperlink? Anchor text?
Melius Weideman
web-visibility.co.za
web-usability.co.za
This hyperlink displayed by your
browser on your screen …
… is generated by this line of HTML code
Hyperlink? Anchor text?
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Start
(opening)
of
hyperlink
tag
End (closing)
of hyperlink
tag
Link referral location –
where wil my browser take
me if I click here? (not
shown on screen)
Visible anchor
text part of
hyperlink (only
part shown on
screen)
Hyperlink dissected
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Another Hyperlink dissected
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Find-a-Hyperlink …
Now view the HTML of any webpage, find a hyperlink and dissect it
(Ctrl + U, Ctrl + F, search for href)
Melius Weideman
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web-usability.co.za
Remember – if you have 2x
hyperlinks to the same
target on the same
webpage, put your best
anchor text in the first
one…
Hyperlink Tip
Melius Weideman
web-visibility.co.za
web-usability.co.za
Good and Bad Anchor text in hyperlinks
Go to a big News site, and check their anchor text…
Melius Weideman
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVwxzIoCjSM
Pelanne, 04:59
Writing good Anchor Text
Writing Better Anchor Text
Melius Weideman
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Metatags are pieces of text inside the HEADER (not the BODY) section of
a webpage
When a user views a webpage, the content of most metatags are not
visible
Metatags are optional – you can omit most of them – it will not alter the
way the webpage is displayed by your browser
Metatags are used by the browser and search engines – they SHOULD be
included in all webpages, well thought through and written, short but
descriptive
Metatags?
Now view the HTML of any webpage, find a TITLE and DESCRIPTION
tag and dissect it (Ctrl + U, Ctrl + F, search for title, etc)
Melius Weideman
web-visibility.co.za
web-usability.co.za
http://youtu.be/FSzV2mhRSSQ
Weideman, 13:28
Writing good Metatags
Writing Metatags
Melius Weideman
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Study the 4-page document, titled:
“BEST PRACTICE SUMMARY – Metatags”
Metatag Best
Practice
Melius Weideman
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YOU have FULL
control over what
appears here ...
... and here
TITLE Tag
DESCRIPTION metatag
How do browsers use them?
Melius Weideman
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- How many words/characters are displayed (what the human USER sees)?
11.3 words / 61 char. 26 words / 154.3 char.
9.5 words / 60.1 char. 27.7 words / 163 char.
10.6 words / 65.6 char. 29.6 words / 179.1 char.
TITLE Tag DESCRIPTION Metatag
11 words /
62 characters
28 words /
165 characters
How long should they be?
- Focus on the FIRST x characters! Your tags can be longer (what the
CRAWLER sees)…
Melius Weideman
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How long are they?
DEMO: Use copy & paste, MSWord to check …
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Length Example 1
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Length Example 2
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You be the judge of the quality of the TITLE TAGS in each of the 3 websites
below, as relevant to the content
www.hometitle.net
www.bmw.com http://synergizeonline.net/
www.unisa.ac.zawww.kalahari.netwww.cput.ac.za
You be the judge of the quality of the DESCRIPTION METATAGS in each of
the 3 websites below, as relevant to the content
Project 2
Melius Weideman
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Inlink Architecture 1
http://www.seomastering.com/backlink-anchor-text-checker.php
Melius Weideman
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Inlink Architecture 2
Can you interpret this output?
Melius Weideman
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Everybody gets so much
information all day long that
they lose their common sense
Melius Weideman
web-visibility.co.za
web-usability.co.za
Takeaway Actions
Load some webpages, view the source code, and find the
hyperlink text
View anchor-text on a big news site (cnn.com, skynews.com) –
evaluate the text
Go to some of your favourite websites, view the code, and
criticize the TITLE and DESCRIPTION metatags