META TAGS

Placed in the HEAD section. Most of what goes into the HEAD section of your document is used to help search engines index your site. Generally, it is information about the document itself.

The four tags that can go in the HEAD section are:

TITLE Tag – This tag usually shows up in the Title Bar at the very top of the browser window.

KEYWORDS Meta Tag-Keywords are the words that someone might type into a search engine to locate sites with the kind of content you offer. So, keywords meta tag is used to list keywords relevant to your sites content. Generally 5 to 10 keywords is a good balance. Commas separate the keywords and keyword phrases.

Example: <META name = “keywords” content=”cheap dates rock band touring information schedule itinerary, cheap dates photos photographic pictures pics song lyrics, CHEAP DATES ROCK BAND”>

There is no closing tag for meta tags; in fact, it is considered illegal in HTML specifications. Notice the capital letters, a search for “MONKEYS” is not the same as a search for “monkeys.”

How do you determine what keywords work: Have a friend make up a list of keywords that they would use if they were looking for a site like yours or go into a search engine and type what you think your top keyword or keyword phrase is, and then go to the first five to 10 sites listed. Open up the source code and take a look.

DESCRIPTION Meta Tag-It’s a description of your site. The description you place in this meta tag is what will show as a description of your site in their search results. Search engines that don’t use the meta tags will use the first few sentences of your page as the description. Should read like a normal sentence.

Online References

Meta tag tool for cheaters http://www.boogiejack.com/metamake.html

AUTHOR Meta Tag-Not required or very useful, but some people like to sign their work.