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 HariesDesign.com - There are two types of META tags, HTTP-EQUIV and tags with a NAME attribute. HTTP-EQUIV tags are similar to HTTP headers. The HTTP header is the information that is transmitted after a request is made for your web page. It contains information which is useful to the web browser for how to display your page.
META tags with a NAME attribute are tags that do not have corresponding
header information. These tags were originally designed for large sites
to easily catalogue their pages but have been used lately by search
engines to help extrapolate what is on your web page.
The format of a META tag is simple, two examples are: <META NAME="description" CONTENT="A tutorial covering the basic and advanced uses of META tags."> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" CONTENT="0"> The < followed by "META" signals the browser that this is a META tag, the next word is what indicates which type of META tag it is, a NAME tag or an HTTP-EQUIV tag. Next, the Content is what the browser should do with the tag. In the first example, we are setting the description of the page to read "A tutorial covering the basic and advanced uses of META tags." Though we won't see this on the web page when we load it, some search engines use this to provide a description in search results listings. In the second example, we are using HTTP-EQUIV to set a refresh rate. Don't worry too much about what those tags are doing right now, we will explain that in a second, just get familiar with how the tag is structured. META tags should be placed inside the <HEAD> </HEAD> HTML tags.
What are Meta tags good for?
For search engines that support them, META tags are used in at least three ways:
How to Use the META Keywords Tag
The META Keywords tag should be placed in the <head> portion of your web page. If you are using a WYSIWYG editor, there is usually some way for you to enter the keywords on the page using a separate dialog box. If you are typing it yourself into your web page, the tag looks like the following: <meta name="keywords" content="put your keywords here" /> In place of the phrase "put your keywords here", you should of course give a list of your keywords. The keywords should be comma-delimited. That is, if you want to your page to be listed when the user searches for "medical help" and "free diagnosis", you should use the following tag: <meta name="keywords" content="medical help, free diagnosis" /> Each search engine has its own limit to the number of characters in your keyword list. The general advice given is not to make your list longer than you need it to be. Some search engine experts recommend that you do not exceed 1000 characters in your list. In the days when it still recognized the keyword tag, Alta Vista did not use anything beyond 500 characters. |
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