Meta Tags and SEO Lesson
In this lesson you will be introduced to some more technical elements of your search engine optimization efforts including "meta tags" explained to clear up any Meta Tag myths you may have found.
 Meta Tags Explained: Tips and Myths
What is a "meta tag", and what is a Meta tag for? Don't worry, it's not another acronym to remember. The word "meta" actually originates from the ancient Greek word meaning "after" seen as early as Aristotle when he referenced "metaphysics" and meta ta fusica. Except you're not here for a history lesson, so back to the internet marketing and where these tags come into play. If you have looked at the source code of your website then you have seen them in between the <head> and </head> statement in the HTML. They're technically descriptive tags that can help your efforts.
First and foremost you need to get one thing straight. Meta Tags are not as important as you may think. While yes, they certainly don't hurt if used correctly. The reality is that the meta system carries very little weight with the major search engines. True when the internet was younger and search engine algorithms had yet to mature into what they are today they meant something. However now days you find that most of the search engines that are still using this method to drive their search results are increasingly disappearing. The top internet search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN don't really care about the meta stuff these days because their algorithms focus more on the actual content of each page itself, not just a few sentences describing it. They do still look at them though, with a couple tags imparticular. So let's get to how you can utilize them for the SEO value they hold. First let's identify the more recommended and search engine robot friendly meta tags and their usage.
Meta Title Tags: The descriptive text that appears between your <title></title> tags contained in your <head></head> statement within your HTML. It's important that this tag is directly relative in nature to the content on the page it represents. Don't make them too long, or try to jam pack as many keywords as you can fit. That will have the opposite effect of optimization. Simply make it communicate what to expect from that page in a few words to a short sentence that best communicates the content of the page.
Example: <title>Beginners Guide to Search Engine Optimization</title>
Meta Description Tags: The most fundamental part of the meta tags once thought to be a jewel to SEO. That's no longer the case though so just apply the rule of making this tag relative to the content of the page it represents. Also keep the description to a few sentences or less and no more than a paragraph. Be sure to also avoid repetitively using the same keywords in ratio to the content of the page. Over keyword saturation can lead to penalties in your search result position placement. Remember this fact as you apply what you learn.
Example: <META NAME="Description" CONTENT="Beginner's guide to search engine optimization and search engine marketing techniques. Covering tips and tricks to increase your website traffic through better search engine result placement. Introductory tutorial explaining SEO from the ground up.">
Meta Keywords Tag: Another over rated SEO tip becoming a thing of the past. Here it is definitely better to employ the less is more strategy. Try to keep it between 3 and 5 very targeted keywords instead of going for overkill.
Example: <META NAME="Keywords" CONTENT="SEO Guide, SEO Tutorial">
Meta Robots Tag: This one supposedly helps guide the search engine "robots" (which we've been referring to as "spiders") as they navigate your site. In reality this tag is redundant and unnecessary but it won't hurt you.
Example: <META NAME="Robots" CONTENT="INDEX, FOLLOW">
Meta Google Tag: Sometimes there may be some content you don't want translated by Google search. Now you can use the "class=notranslate" tag into any HTML element to prevent it. This helps avoid spam traps and other potential annoying internet quirks.
Content Example:
Email us at <span class="notranslate">info@professionalsweb.net</span>
Head Example: <META NAME="google" value="notranslate">
Click for more information.
Anyhow we can't give away all the intricacies of how to manipulate the benefits of meta tags to leverage your search engine traffic. Or we wouldn't be able to offer it as a service. So if you'd like to know more about Meta Tags check out a more in depth article. For now though here's a list of additional recommended, optional, and unproductive meta tags.
Recommended Meta Tags- Meta Content Language
- Meta Content Type
- Meta Resource Type
- Meta Author
- Meta Copyright
- Meta Title
- Meta MSN
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Optional Meta Tags- Meta Abstract
- Meta Designer
- Meta Rating
- Meta Resource Type
- Meta Reply-To
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Unproductive Meta Tags- Meta Generator
- Meta Distribution
- Meta Content Script Type
- Meta Content Style Type
- Meta Expires
- Meta Pragma No-Cache
- Meta Refresh
- Met Set Cookie
- Meta Subject
- Meta Revisit After
- Meta VW96.ObjectType
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Whether you decide to use all of these meta tag examples is up to you. Although we wouldn't recommend out doing yourself, especially if you're new to HTML all together. To learn more about the meta tag topic click here to see what google says about meta tags. Or click here to see what Yahoo says. While the search engines definitely still use meta tags, they don't leverage your search result placement as much as some would lead you to believe. Anyway, it's time to get to more technical search engine optimization lessons and get closer to number 10 so you can be a SEM prodigy sooner than later. So continue to the next page when you're ready...
Better SEO Introduction | Keywords and Keyphrase | Title Relavency | Dynamic Content | Navigation / Association | Meta Tags Explained | SiteMaps and Robots | HTML Optimization | Inbound & Outbound Links | Link Building | Search Engine Submission
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