Meta Tags - What Are They

Meta Tags are a very important part of any Web Site development project, they allow for the FREE promotion of a Web Site via Search Engines and not many Web Sites make use of them.

Meta Tags allow Search Engines and Directories to index a Web Site and the three main Meta Tags are, Description, Keywords and Classification. Other tags that must be used are called Title Tag, Alt Tag and Header Tags.

Important Message

Before we talk about Meta Tags we must point out most Web Developers will not discuss them with potential clients. Why!

If the proper research is done for your industry and the Meta Tags Keywords are used in the text of each page they can considerably increase the development time of creating a Web Site and anything that increases development time most Web Developers don't like to discuss with potential clients unless they are pacifically asked and as most people have never heard about Meta Tags the subject never comes up in conversation.

Internet Sales always discusses Meta Tags with potential clients as we include them in every Web Site we develop.

A Web Site developed by Internet Sales may cost a little more than some Web Developers because we believe in doing the job right in the first place. We do everything possible to ensure a Web Site can be found by Search Engines including many other factors eg. quick loading pages, optimised images, a navigation structure that allows visitors to never get lost no matter how big the Web Site is.

You Know The Saying

You Only Get What You Pay For

What Are Meta Tags Continued

The words and phrases you choose for your Meta Tags have a direct impact on the position of your Web Site in Search Engines and Directories. Choosing your Meta Tags can be a difficult process but needs to be done, it would be good if you could look into a crystal ball and see those magic words people are going to use in Search Engines and Directories to find your Web Site.

The better your Web Site position is (preferable in the top 10 - 20) the more likely you will be to have people visiting your Web Site. Although there are other ways to generate traffic for your Web Site you cannot ignore the major Search Engines and Directories as part of your Web Site marketing strategy.

A fact we must make you aware of is; not all Web Sites need Search Engines and Directories to be successful, this depends on your type of business but we estimate at least 93% of businesses can take advantage of Search Engines and Directories and must have their Web Site deigned so it can be indexed but you MUST NOT reply on Search Engines and Directories as the only way you promote your Web Site.

Below is information on the three main Meta Tags, Description, Keywords and Classification and a sample of each.

Meta Tag Description

One of our clients, Marchello Drum Company, manufactures Electronic Drum Pads and we will use his Meta Tag Description as an example. This will give you an idea of what is required for your business / company.

Marchello 3D-Pad drum triggers: the first removable trigger pad. Creating a whole new concept in percussion and electronic drums.

Please Note: Meta Tag Description should not be any longer than 200 characters which included spaces.

Meta Tag Keywords

You can try using a crystal ball but the most effective way of coming up with Meta Tag Keywords is to start thinking like your audience. Take a step back from your Web Site and try to think of the terms you might enter into a Search Engine or Directory to find a Web Site like yours.

You have probably already looked at your competitor's Web Sites, what words did you use to find them? Write down a list of fifty words, for example; lets look at a Web Site called Vegies devoted to vegetarian cooking, which also sells cookbooks and offers free recipes. By thinking like your audience you might generate the following list taking into consideration their services, products and the resources they have in their Web Site. You should also include synonyms, acronyms, abbreviation, and misspellings.

cooking, recipes, food, vegetarian, meals, ingredients, vegetables, eat, cook, diet, preparation, culinary, prepare, nourishment, sustenance, weight loss, non-meat, tomatoes, fruit, diet, dietary, books, cookbooks, information, tips, facts, gourmet, supermarket, shop, planning, kitchen, oven, restaurant, chefs, health, wine, market, chocolate, pasta, holiday, celebration, shopping, utensils, pots, pans, dinner, lunch, breakfast, main dish, grains,

Choose some of the single words and form them into Key Phrases such as "meal preparation", "vegetarian recipes", or "holiday main dish". This enables the Web Site to position better on those phrases as opposed to relying on broad Keywords such as cooking.

It is difficult to have a good position in Search Engines or Directories with such a broad Keyword. A Keyword like "cooking" results in tens of thousands of listings. Aim for a Keyword list of around thirty words and be sure to include your business name. The final list might look something like this;

cooking, cook, vegetarian, vegetable, holiday meal, gourmet meal, food recipes, healthy nutrition, cookbook, vegetarian cookbook, healthy diet, weight loss information, ingredients, gourmet recipes, non-meat meal, restaurant, food preparation, Vegies,

Please note: Only use Meta Tag Keywords that are relevant to your industry. All words and phrase to be separated by a comma and have no blank spaces eg;

"cooking,cook,vegetarian,vegetable,
holiday meal,gourmet meal,food recipes"

Thanks to Rhonda McGuinness for some of the above information.

Meta Tag Classification

Classification is just the name of the type of trade or profession your business is involved in. For this example we will use the Meta Tag Classification of this Web Site (Internet Sales), this will give you an idea of what is required for your business / company Web design and security.

What to do next...

	Keep reading through this Web Site to gain information about how Internet Sales can assist you with Web Design, Web Development and Internet Marketing together with anything else to do with the Internet.
	OR contact us to discuss your requirements.

We look forward to assisting your business expand and profit through effective Internet marketing...


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