Background
A 'META Tag' is a special HTML tag that provides information about a Web page. Unlike normal HTML tags, meta tags do not affect how the page is displayed. Instead, they provide information such as who created the page, how often it is updated, what the page is about, and which keywords represent the page's content. Many search engines, including Google, use this information when building their indices. The tags itself is an invisible string of code you can place inside your home page which can facilitate more chance that your site will get noticed by robots (aka meta crawlers or spiders) when registered on some search engines. Meta tags come in two basic types, meta description tags and meta keyword tags. Their actual degree of usefulness is widely debated and probably secondary to refined means of promoting your site to a specific target audience. These tags allow some ability to control how your site is indexed by search engines and how and when it will 'come up' on a user’s search. Example META Tags
If you do a 'view source' on most web pages, you will see the META tag information on the very top of the page. The following is an example of the META tag information for www.shopfort1.com. Below I will review what each tag is and strategies to enhance your site's visibility with correctly authored tags. USE OUR FREE META TAG GENERATOR <title>INSTANT T1 Price Quotes of T1 Lines from Nationwide T1 Service Providers of High-Speed Internet Broadband Connections.</title>
<meta name="description" content="We calculate the cost of T1 service in REAL-TIME and guarantee you the lowest T1 prices! Compare voice and data broadband line internet connection providers price quotes in seconds. Prices last updated October 19, 2005">
<meta name="keywords" content="T1 service, T1 price, T1 quote, T1 price quote, T1 line, T1 pricing, T1 internet service, T1 prices, T1 internet, high-speed internet access, T1 internet access, T1 provider, T1 providers, T1 availability, Los Angeles T1 Service">
<meta name="abstract" content="Voice and Data T1 service line internet connection provider price quotes.">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<meta name="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" content="TRUE">
<meta name="revisit-after" content="25 days">
<meta name="robots" content="index,follow">
<meta http-equiv="content-language" CONTENT="en">
<meta name="rating" content="general">
<meta name="distribution" CONTENT="Global">
<meta http-equiv="pragma" CONTENT="cache">
The tags listed above can serve as a template for you. Just replace all of the information inside the " " quotes and you will have writen your very own META tag. Now, let's begin discussing each one, how it works, and the importance it plays in listing your site in the search engines. Title
The title tag should come first, as it is the most important tag of all of the META tags. It is a 6-10 word title of your site (you will see many different views on the amount of words for your title, I am just telling you what has worked for me in the past...). This is the tag that will appear in the blue bar (on the top of your internet explorer window) and also the title of your search engine listing. <title>Free Home Business Resources for Work at Home Moms</title>
Much like a classified ad title, you will want to keep it short and be as descriptive as posssible - while at the same time incorporating your target keywords (without repeating them). Description
The description tag tells the search engines what to print in the small paragraph below your title (in your search engine listing). This is where you give potential visitors a quick overview of your site, what they can expect to find, and why they should come to your site over all of the other sites listed. <description>Try to match your title in the same words/phrases, but DO NOT repeat it over and over. Give a real overview of what your site is all about.</description> As a general rule of thumb you should keep your description under 75 words and include your main keyword once or twice, but no more. USE OUR FREE META TAG GENERATOR
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