Re: Meta Tags - what is it???

> Bear with me here, but could someone explain meta tags?  What are they
> specifically and what would I write on a webpage to create one?

There are several meta tags.  In general when we are discussing them here we
are usually talking about the meta tags that are used to get the website
listed in the search engines and directories.  Search Engine Placement is
important because building a website is one thing, getting people to know it
exists is quite another.

This is where the "keywords" and "description" meta's come into play.  By
putting important words in them and including these words in the <TITLE>
block, the <H1> header and in the text of the webpage, you give the search
engine robots something to index.

This way when a potential viewer searches for something, your website
hopefully pops up in the search and they are directed to your site.

Here are a few of the meta's I use most often:

  <META NAME="resource-type" CONTENT="document">
  <META NAME="classification" CONTENT="fruit">
  <META NAME="description" CONTENT="Mycompany sells fruit">
  <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="fruit, apples, oranges, pears">
  <META NAME="distribution" CONTENT="Global">
  <META NAME="copyright" CONTENT="Copyright 1999, mycompany.com, all rights
reserved">
  <META NAME="robots" CONTENT="all">
  <META NAME="rating" CONTENT="General">

This is not an all-conclusive list.  Description and Keywords are the
important ones.  I have been speaking pretty much in general terms here.
This is a deep subject that bears much study if you wish to succeed.  It's
one thing to build a webpage, it's quite another for it to be a success.

A good place to start is http://www.laisha.com/search   which has a good
basic description of how to build webpages for the search engines and
explains the main ones in-depth.  I don't recommend buying any software or
services.  It's always best to learn and control your own destiny.

Paul Wilson
webgooru(at)gte.net

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