In the previous post we began a discussion of the meta-tags - what they are, how they're used, why they're important, etc.
It was noted that there is an immense amount of discrepancy between the experts as to which tags are most critical, how they should be constructed, etc.
We began by talking about the title tag. We'll now continue with the discussion of the other two important tags.
2. Description Tag. The description tag is simply a string of words that tell the searcher what he is going to find when he clicks on the web page link. It is important because it is analyzed by the search robots that index pages so they can get a clear idea of what that page is going to be about.
But the description tag is even more critical to the viewer or surfer. This is the little bit of text right under the page title in the search engine results that the viewer will read to get an idea of whether he wants to take the time to visit that site, or not, and simply move on to the next entry result.
This tag then becomes the basis upon which many viewers will decide to click and investigate a listed page. It is very important that the tag is well written, enticing, very descriptive, and that it stands out from the rest of the results ahead of and behind it.
The description tag should have about 200 characters, as I recall, and should include both key words, and also the single most important benefit to be derived by the viewer from going to the site. This benefit is the "grabber," the reason why the viewer absolutely must click on this result over all the other possibilities.
3. Key words tag. The final tag of importance is the key words tag. As the name implies, this is a very focused and targeted list of the key words that you want to present to the viewer in order to send him the results he's searching on.
Unlike the other two tags, the key words tag does not have to be written so that it reads well. It is merely a list of words and/or phrases that are strung together by commas, that best describe your page.
Many web site owners and search engine optimizers search Word Tracker and the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool prior to writing this tag. They want to understand which key words are used most often as web surfers search on specific topics. These tools have become indispensable in helping the marketer identify what surfers really type into the search box.
Put your most important key words at the front of the list for this tag. Make sure you include the keywords that you've already targeted in the title and description tags. Some feel that you should limit the key words to somewhere around 700-800; others think that the number you use is not important.
Most agree that you shouldn't try to spam with key words; that is, listing the same word over and over again in the same tag. Words that appear in conjunction with other key words (as in similar phrases) are OK to use, but some feel that every unique word ought to be used just once and no more.
Some have openly suggested that a number of search engines no longer even consider the key word tag in the search results. My take on it is this: as long as you aren't penalized for it, you may as well include a key word tag in case it's something that the search engines are looking for.
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