Owlstown Newsletter #17: Site visibility

Hello Owlstowners!

I added two new features to improve your site’s visibility to search engines and social media: sitemap and meta tags.

Photo by Andreas Dress on Unsplash

Sitemap

Google’s description of sitemaps:

A sitemap is a file where you provide information about the pages, videos, and other files on your site, and the relationships between them. Search engines like Google read this file to more intelligently crawl your site.

Owlstown automatically generates a sitemap for your website. To view your sitemap, visit <your-domain-name.com>/sitemap.xml

Meta tags

Meta tags are snippets of code that describe the content of your webpage to search engines, such as your site’s title and description. There are also special meta tags that specify how your website looks when shared on social media.

To view your site’s meta tags, right-click on your website and select “View source”. An easier way is to visit Hey Meta and enter your domain name in the field. Hey Meta will show your site’s title, description, and a preview of how your webpage will look like on social media.

The Academic Designer

As an academic, you have plenty on your plate. Sometimes you need help with how to share your research online. Jennifer van Alstyne, the Academic Designer, can help. She writes about strategies for sharing your research, such as social media tips for the job market, highlighting your work on your website, and showcasing your teaching.

In her own words:

Jennifer van Alstyne helps faculty and researchers communicate what they do in online spaces. Whether she's consulting, helping a research lab highlight their team, or designing bespoke websites for professors, Jennifer loves the variety of projects she works on. With a focus on strategic communications, her focus is empowering academics to share their work with the world through personal websites and social media. Read The Social Academic blog for advice and interviews on managing your online presence in the Higher Ed world. Connect with Jennifer on social media @HigherEdPR.