Meta tags are useful in getting better listings in the search
engines. However, not all search engines support meta tags. This
means that some search engines ignore them. But include meta
tags in your document for the engines that do use them. It will
significantly increase your rating.
There are many, many different meta tags. The only ones you need
to be concerned with are the "description" and "keyword" tags.
(And "title" tag, of course.) The description tag provides a
summary which appears when your page comes up on a search.
Without this "description" the search engine will create one. It
will generally use the first few lines of text at the top of
your page. Meta tags are to be placed inside the head tags. Here
is what your meta tags should look like:
<HEAD> <TITLE>Web Site Utilities for Webmasters</TITLE> <META
NAME="Description" CONTENT="Utilities for every webmaster who
wants to optimize their web site pages."> <META NAME="Keywords"
CONTENT="web site utilities, webmaster utilities, web site
opitmization"> </HEAD>
Search engines that read everything on your page will include
alt tags and links to a banner that is at the very top of your
page. This is why it is not a good idea to have a banner at the
top. The beginning of your page should be a title (use keywords
here) and text. The first paragraph should be heavy with
keywords, but not so heavy as to make it difficult to read or
understand. You want to work the keywords in so it sounds
natural for them to be there.
If your site is heavy on graphics and short on text, then you
need to use meta tags. Otherwise, you have very little chance to
come up on the search engines. Consider the meta tags as tools
that make up for a lack of text on your site. Your best option,
however, is to have a site that is heavy in content and text.
You will not only get a better ranking in the search engines,
but you will please the people who visit your site. After all,
isn't this the name of the game?
"Keywords" tags provide keywords for the search engine to
associate with your page. It gives your page a chance to come up
if someone is searching for one or more of your keywords. Choose
your keywords carefully. Try to imagine what the searcher will
enter for their search. Do NOT use keywords that are not
relevent to your site. Many people think that because "sex" is
one of the most common keywords used for a search, that it is
good to include it in their keyword list. This is just another
form of spam. Don't do it. You could get a lot of hate mail. Key
words should always be two or more words, in other words, key
phrases. If you only use single keywords you are likely to get
lost in the crowd. For example, if you have a site that
specializes in 'free business opportunities', list that as a
keyword phrase instead of listing each word ie: free, business,
opportunties. It is not likely that someone looking for 'free
business opportunities' is going to type in just 'business' into
their search. Can you imagine all the sites that would come up
if that were the case? You would be lost in the crowd. Be
specific with your keyword phrases. Put yourself in the place of
the person doing the search. What are they likely to type in as
their search?
It is not enough to have a list of keywords in your meta tags.
These keywords must also appear in the title tag as well as in
the text on your page. If you fail to do this, then your ranking
with the search engines will be low, no matter how may keywords
you have. It is most important that your keywords appear in the
first paragraph on your page. They should also be in the title
and headers. Some search engines also read 'alt tags'. Be sure
to use relevant keywords there also.
Some of the search engines don't like line breaks in meta tags.
It is best to have your meta tags as one long line rather than
having it wrap. I have been told that if your tags wrap, the
search engine only reads the first line.
You do not need a mile long string of keywords. The search
engine will not read all of them. The standard is 1024
characters. The spaces between your keywords also count as a
character. Don't use spaces. Use commas to separate your
keywords. Select your keywords very carefully, and arrange them
in order of importance.
There are no 'secrets' to search engine success. Meta tags are
not a magic solution to getting listed. Using meta tags along
with other methods, such as having a content rich site, will
dramatically boost your ranking in the major search engines.
About the author:
Subscribe to windsong's free e-zine: All About Search
Engines!(tm) A free, twice monthly newsletter that covers how
they work, criteria for top placement, how not to spam the
search engines, meta tags and their uses, designing for search
engines, and much more! Send a blank email to:
mailto:aboutsearchengines-subscribe@egroups.com
