Do you need META Tags?

There's a running controversy about whether or not to use meta tags. Some experts say "Forget it," but after interviewing six major search engines on ranking criteria, I can tell you that many search engines still use them. Those that don't will not penalize for using them, so I say, "Why not?"

What Are Meta Tags?

Meta tags are special HTML tags that provide information about the content on Web pages. They're not visible to users viewing a page unless that user goes into the View menu and clicks Source (Internet Explorer browser), which opens a window displaying meta tag copy.

It used to be that this resource was used by site owners and webmasters to control positioning and descriptions in search engine results. More recently, however, search engine indexing formulas place less emphasis on meta tags in ranking formulas. That's because meta tags have been abused to gain better positioning. The deceptive practices of over-using keywords and using irrelevant content in meta tags have forced search engines to give more weight to other ranking factors.

In search engine optimization, the most important meta tags are the Title Tag, Meta Description Tag (sometimes used by search engines to summarize Web sites and as the site description in search results) and the Meta Keywords Tag (used by some search engines to help index Web sites).

Title Tag

Every HTML document must contain a Title element in the Head section (at the top of the page). The title identifies the document's overall content. The title tag generally precedes the meta description tag and meta keywords tag. Below is an example of a title tag for a page selling digital cameras on a fictitious photo site.

<title>Digital Cameras: Compare Prices, Brands, Best Discounts</title>

Meta Description Tag

The meta description tag is important because it is often used by search engines as the description of your site in search results. It is also used to help summarize Web sites when indexing. When you write the copy, you must ensure it is compelling and relevant so potential customers will click to your page. Copy should contain several strategic keywords on the page. It might look like this for a page selling camera equipment.

<meta name="description" content="Compare Prices and Brand Ratings at ABCPhoto.com for the Best Discounts on Digital Cameras">

Search engines supporting meta description tags may cut your copy down anywhere from 150 to 400 characters. Therefore, place the essential part of your message in the first 150 characters, continuing with additional copy up to 400 characters.

Meta Keywords Tags

The meta keywords tag reveals the most important keywords for each page to search engine robots. This helps users find your strategic keywords in search engine queries, so you really must conduct proper research to come up with a complete list of keywords. Start by analyzing the most popular keywords from sources such as WordTracker to arrive at an optimum final list. Below is an example of a keyword meta tag for a page selling camera equipment (oversimplified).

<meta name="keywords" content="camera, picture, digital camera review, photo, cameras, lens, tripod, kodak, nikon, olympus, canon, pentax, minolta, agfa, leica, yashica, fuji, digital camera, photography, zoom lens, telephoto, polaroid, single lens reflex, photographic equipment, camera lens, camera bags, camera equipment, camera accessories, filters, filmless cameras, photography how-to, taking pictures, color film, digital camera sales, shutter speed, film speed, cannon, nikkon, fugi">

Note that singular and plural forms of the same word are used, as well as common misspellings. List as many keywords as you can, up to 1,000 characters (counting spaces). Of course the most important words should be at the beginning, perhaps even starting with the company name if it's an e-commerce site..

You can place keywords in your meta keywords tags with or without commas. Some experts insist on commas, while others say just the opposite. The search engines say it doesn't matter.

Will Meta Tags Improve Rankings?

Meta tags aren't as important as they used to be because search engines are using them less and less. A good number of engines still use the meta description tag to create page summaries and as the site description in search queries.

Search engines now focus on indexing text that is visible on the page because the "invisible text" in meta tags was abused in the past (repetition and relevancy) and is viewed with suspicion. Nonetheless, I recently asked AltaVista, FAST AllTheWeb, Google and Lycos about using meta tags, and only one said it ignores them.

AltaVista said developing proper meta tags is important, and that it uses titles, descriptions and keywords in its ranking algorithm. FAST said it looks for meta descriptions, and if none are found it examines the first 250 characters on the page. Google said it looks at the keyword and description meta tags, but they're not a major ranking factor. Lycos said it doesn't use meta tags but won't penalize for them, either.

Changing SEO Techniques

A little over a year ago, Iconocast surveyed over 400 respondents on meta tags, reporting they were "the most common method to improve site ranking, followed by tweaking page titles." (Chart below courtesy of Iconocast.)

 

Methods to Improve Rankings
Changing metatags	61%
Changing page titles	44%
Reciprocal linking	32%
Purchasing multiple domains	28%
Multiple home pages	21%
Hiding keywords in background	18%
Pay-per-click	13%
Source: Nov. 2000 ICONOCAST Inc./InsightExpress

 

From the Iconocast survey, it appears meta tags were very important at the end of 2000. Yet many search engines today give it a lukewarm nod. Does that mean meta tags are useless?  Hardly. You definitely want to include a meta description tag for every page on your site; that's what the engines use when they display your link in results. If you don't have one, the engine writes its own description from excerpts on the page, which may not be your most advantageous copy for click-throughs. 

As for the meta keywords tag, it can't hurt. Selecting strategic keywords from the copy on your page just might help. When your keywords appear in the body text and also in the description and keyword meta tags it assures search engine spiders that your page is relevant.

Be Careful With Meta Tags

As indicated by Lycos, most engines will not penalize you for meta tags if content is proper and relevant. But you don't want to repeat a keyword more than 2 or 3 times in a meta tag. Definitely don't repeat the same word twice in a row, which sets off spam filters. Be sure to use keywords that are actually on the page and reflect the essence of your content.

Warning: Don't use trademarks or company names belonging to others in your meta tags. Lawsuits have been won against unfair and unauthorized use of trademarks and brand names owned by others.

April 3, 2002