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META Tag Tutorial

If, after reading through this, it still seems confusing to you, the experts at Int?go can help. They are an exceptional web site development company that specializes in custom e-commerce, e-catalog, and shopping cart solutions. Also, if you're ready to add interactivity to your site, Int?go can help.

Follow these simple Meta Tag (Metatag) guidelines to help improve your site's position in search engines. When used properly, search engines will be better able to properly index your site for ranking purposes; however, they won't guarantee top placement on their own. It is suggested that you use a service such as SearchStatus.com to monitor your current positioning.

Also, check out this FREE Meta Tag Generator!!

A sample set of META Tags appear below:
<META name="title" content="The is the title of the web site">
<META name="description" content="The is the description of the web site">
<META name="keywords" content="Comma-separated keywords for the web site">
<META name="resource-type" content="document">
<META name="revisit-after" content="15">
<META name="classification" content="Shopping Site">
<META name="robots" content="ALL">
<META name="distribution" content="Global">
<META name="rating" content="General">
<META name="copyright" content="yourcompany.com">
<META name="author" content="John Doe">
<META name="contactstreetaddress1" content="123 Abc Drive">
<META name="contactcity" content="Some City">
<META name="contactstate" content="Some State">
<META name="contactzipcode" content="12345">
<META name="contactphonenumber" content="1-800-YOURSITE">
<META http-equiv="reply-to" content="info@yourcompany.com">
<META http-equiv="title" content="Another method to set your page's title">

Of these META Tags, only the Title, Keywords, and Description tags will be discussed.

Keywords META Tag

The Keywords META Tag is used by many search engines to drive their results. For example, when a search engine user searches for italian ceramics, sites containing italian and ceramics in their META Keywords will be returned. It is recommended that you include all of the main keywords that search engines users would you to find your site. One word of warning though, do not "stuff" (repeatedly use the same keywords in an attempt to be ranked higher) the Keywords META Tag. Most search engines are now smart enough to decipher this and may penalize you in their rankings. Here are some additional META Keyword tips:

1. Always use lowercase letters and comma delimit keywords and phrases
2. Keep all your META keywords on a single line
3. Do not "stuff" your META Keywords. If you still feel that you must repeat keywords, limit it to no more than 3 or 4 times and do not repeat them consecutively
4. Always use the plural form of your keywords. Doing so will make your keywords inclusive for users querying search engine with singular or plural forms of words.
5. Keep your META keywords to 1000 characters or less

Description META Tag

The Description META Tag is your opportunity to really promote your site. Again, many search engines will use this information to describe your site in query results. This is your opportunity to talk up your site with succinct sentences describing your web site. Be sure to include your most important META Keywords in your description; however, don't overdo it since some search engines may determine that you are trying to overly "stuff" your META information and penalize you in their rankings.

Title META Tag

The Title META Tag should be used in conjunction with the normal <TITLE> tag. Many search engines will used the title information that you provide to describe your site in query results. It is highly recommended that you include your company name in all title information.

More Information

Since each of the major Search Engines and directories respond to Meta tags differently, it is important to fully understand them. For more information, check out the following:



If all of this is still confusing to you, the experts at Int?go can help. They are an exceptional web site development company that specializes in custom e-commerce, e-catalog, and shopping cart solutions. Also, if you're ready to add interactivity to your site, Int?go can help.

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