Meta Tags

[bensd]

I would like to hear some opinions on meta tags. I have read many conflicting articles on them and their relevance with seo...

• I have read articles that say they are a must have
• I have read articles that say they are pointless
• I even read one article that read when not used properly they can be harmful to a site

Lets hear what everyone thinks about them.

-Ben

 

[itrends]

Ok here we go...

meta tags

you MUST have a TITLE tag obviousy (not technically a meta tag)
You should have a decription tag... this IS picked up by the search engines and will be used instead of a snippet if you specify it.
You should put a keyword tag as some smaller search engines and directories use them, generally its just good practice.

I tend to write a keyword rich description tag, then just chop it in the middle and switch it for the keyword tag.

Another tip, put your most important keyword / key phrase at the start of the title and description tag, try not to dilute it with other words or stop words (such as and, or, as well, we about etc) and try to do a mix of plural and singulars etc.

Trust me, I have been an seo specialist for over 7 years and have some 'very nice' first positions on many different types of sites

Dave

P.s
I am certain someone will disagree simply because SEOs do and everyone has their own way... I am just sharing the way that I have used and made work for many years with great success.

Also, many will profess links links links... me... not so much, its preached too much these days

Finally, I will dig out a recent thing by Matt Cutts (google engineer) about using the description tag

 

[bensd]

Thanks for such a quick and interesting reply!

-Ben

 

[andyho]

Keep the tags short and do not stuff them - build it for humans and not robots. make sure your keywords appear on your home page plenty of times but do not hide them!

 

[Arleigh]

Meta tags have a little effect on seo, so it's better to create a meta description for humans and not for search engines.

 

[Takwa]

I heard that meta tags are finally dead somewhere before on the web, i never use them

 

[Arleigh]

I still use meta tags though they have less effect on increasing your site's rankings. It's still important to create meta description because you'll use them when you submit your site to directories and when you link exchange with other sites.

I heard that meta tags are finally dead somewhere before on the web, i never use them