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What Is Your Billboard? Thoughts on SEO Title and Meta Description Tags

Driving into San Francisco, today, to teach my class on Search Engine Optimization I noticed the billboards along the freeway.  Some big, some small.  Some familiar (McDonald's, Chevron), some not so much. There's an art to a good billboard.
  • Catch their attention. Motorists are speeding by...  Busy, lost in their own thoughts.  You must catch their attention.
  • Convey your value proposition. In an instant. Hungry? Here's McDonald's.  Need gas? Here's Chevron?
  • Be memorable. A logo (McDonald's golden arches), a phrase (Alaska Airlines: You Just Get More).
Search Engine Optimization and Billboards
On the Internet highway - a.k.a. Google Search - your billboard is your SERP result.

  • Your TITLE tag should catch their attention. Hey! Look at me!
  • Your META DESCRIPTION (visible underneath your TITLE / HEADLINE on Google) should convey your value proposition. If you click here, you'll get {THIS}.  So please click!
  • And then if / once they LAND you need to be memorable. Why should I remember you?
Why should they click? What's your billboard on Google?
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Location: San Francisco, CA, USA

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