SEO is limited

[indi]

I have noticed the areas for optimising the pages are somewhat limited.

We need to be able to add at least 65 characters to the meta title tag, and then add the meta description, again to the max character limit allowed by Google, and because some search engines still use them, add meta keywords too. Also, what about adding H1 tags in the pages?

This software is otherwise rendered pretty useless if you want to use it for a website that will rank in the search engines which I guess, most people do.

I have also noticed that when you add the page title in the header, this seems to be confused with the page title tag in SEO settings, which is a completely different thing. So when you currently edit it through individual page editing or through seo settings, both titles change to the same words. Therefore, the header title needs to be separated and not changed in tandem with the page title tag in seo settings.

[indi]

Doers nobody use this forum much? Any mods or admin around? anybody??

[Steve]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll look into some of the things you've mentioned to see if they can be fixed. You can already add meta keywords and descriptions by clicking on the actual "SEO Settings" tab in your website settings.

One of the things to keep in mind is that SnapPages is made to be a simple solution so it is not our goal to allow users to have complete freedom over every aspect of their site. For some having this control is great but for many others it's just overwhelming so it's all about finding a balance between giving people options while making it simple enough so that everyone can use it.

I do appreciate the feedback and suggestions and I'll be looking for ways to improve the SEO for the websites as we develop it further.

[indi]

That has to be the most rubbish excuse I have heard in a long time.

Not allowing complete freedom over every aspect of the site?????

Freedom to have 65-70 characters for the meta title? ::confused:
Freedom to be able to add a meta description :confused:
Freedome to add H1 tags :confused:

What have you got to lose if you allow this? You will gain far more by having it there.

Clearly not a serious piece of software to enter the market. Shame so much time was spent making it look good instead of making sure it does what the customer wants (you know, those that are likely to pay you some money ;)

ps I would sort out the mass of porn spam appearing here every day.

[Steve]

I appreciate the opinion and I'll be the first to say that the site will not meet the needs or expectations of everyone. I'd just like to point out that I wasn't excusing anything I was simply giving you something to consider as you go through the site and look at features that aren't there.

As I also mentioned some of the features you first said and then repeated again are already available and users can already try those out. The most I can do is assure you that I'll be looking for ways to improve the site while maintaining focus on what the site is really trying to accomplish.

Thanks again for the feedback though, I do appreciate it hearing feedback of all kind as long as it's constructive.

PS I'm working on the forum moderation and I've already taken actions to reduce some of those issues.

[indi]

what is most annoying is taking the time to log in and have a trial based on what you are told before hand only to discover it's been a complete waste of my time:

"Now anyone can create and manage a professional quality website..."

"Advanced settings
Manage SEO settings and other advanced settings for your site."

The words 'professional' and 'quality' do infer I should expect to have something reasonable in terms of a website.

The word 'advanced' means exactly that - beyond basic level and intermediate level - because that is what advanced means.

You need:

Meta Title Tag with enough characters to max it for Google
Meta Description tag
Meta Keywords tag
H1 tags (as a minimum) but allowing for H2/H3/ would be better

None of the above shouold be restricted as far as Google is concerned. You're half way there but they are not advanced settings because they are restricted.

The best USP would be people using your solution and managing to reasonably rank high on the search engines, surely? They are not going to do that with this bit of kit.

As it stands, anyone with any nouse will spot that early on like me and customers who are not internet savvy will eventually realise it's not getting them anywhere on the SE's, if that is what they need it to do.

Like I said, a shame really, but hey, i'm buying another solution instead.

ps I must have missed it somewhere - what are you trying to accomplish with this? For most businesses, it is sales, bottom line.