The
biggest myth about search engine optimization is related to Meta Tags.
There are many people and even "so called" SEO Consultants
think that meta tags is all what you need for achieving higher search
engine ranking - however this is far from truth. It is because of this
myth that many web sites don't reach their potential market and do not
receive enough exposure through internet.
However, it will be wrong to
say that Meta Tags don't carry any importance - but it is also equally
wrong to say that Meta Tags can get your web site ranked in top search
results. There was a time (late 90's) when search engines did gave
*good* amount of importance to Meta Tags - specially Meta Keywords &
Meta Descriptions. But with the growth of internet, many webmasters
started misusing Meta Tags with the goal of achieving higher search
engine positioning - and this and other factors results in to
decreased importance of Meta Tags in search engine results.
Sample Meta
Tags
This goes in the <
Head > section of your code.
<title>Top Search Engine Optimization </title>
<meta name="description" content="What is this page about">
<meta name="keywords" content="keywords that describe this page
k1,k2,k3">
<meta name="author" content="XYZ">
<meta name="language" content="en-usa">
<meta name="revisit-after" content="30
days">
<meta name="owner" content="XYZ">
<meta name="copyright"
content="Copyright© 1996 - 2003 your name, All rights reserved">
<meta name="contact_addr"
content="contact@topSEO.com">
<meta name="rating" content="general">
<meta name="robots" content="all">
<meta name="distribution"
content="global">
<meta name="classification" content="Web
Marketing">
<meta http-equiv="reply-to"
content="contact@topSEO.com">
Title (<Title>):
The title tag is
the most important meta tag and all too often is not utilized
properly. As with the description tag the title tag is what will
attract visitors to your website. When web surfers query a search
engine the results are based on relevance. When the websites are
listed they are usually listed in the following manner:
Description (<meta
name="Description..."):
The description
tag is the next most important meta tag. As with the title, your
description will typically be listed in the search engines. The
description is highlighted in red above. Like the title, you will have
to tread the fine line between creating an effective description that
will attract visitors and rank well in the search engines for your
keywords.
Keywords (<meta
name="Keywords..."):
Due to abuse by
many websites in the past search engines have reduced the importance
of the keywords meta tag when ranking a web page for keyword
relevance. Many have actually decided to not even consider the
keywords tag altogether, Google being one of them. While it has
reduced in significance, Directories like Yahoo still place a
significant importance on this meta tag, so you should include it in
your WebPages.
Copyright (<meta
name="Copyright..."):
The copyright meta
tag, as with the rest of the meta tags to be discussed, are hidden.
They are not viewable in the search engine results or your web page.
The copyright meta tag is essentially an opportunity for you to enter
your company name in the meta tags. Some engines will read this tag,
which could result in you ranking higher for your company name in the
engines then you would otherwise receive.
Robots (<meta
name="Robots..."):
The robots tag is
a set of instructions for the search engines when they visit your
website. You can tell the search engines to index all of your web
page, only the ones promoted, or none of your WebPages. This is an
important tag in the event you have pages that you do not want indexed
on the search engines.
Rating (<meta
name="Rating..."):
The ratings meta
tag will tell the search engines a little more about your website.
Whether it is acceptable for all audiences, or for adult audiences
only.
Distribution (<meta
name="Distribution..."):
The distribution
tag will tell the search engines if your website is intended for a
worldwide audience or not. While most websites are meant to be viewed
by everyone, few include this meta tag on their web page.
Above is the sample of Meta
Tags that we generally use on our web site. There are many more
parameters one can add, but all of them are not really required and
does not play any real role in search engine positioning. Today many
search engines do not give any real importance to Meta Keywords either
(there is a big difference between Meta Keywords and Keywords used for
promoting your web site) - however, still it is recommended that your
web site at least uses Meta Title, Meta Description & Meta Keyword
Tags.
Also, remember, Meta Tags are
not even given 5% importance when it coming to search engine ranking -
but still these tags are considered important (every point counts) and
for better results - it is generally recommended to use appropriate
Meta Tags.
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