META tags are incorporated into the HTML code of many webpages. The most common META tags are TITLE, DESCRIPTION, and KEYWORDS. They affect not only how a site appears in search listings, but how high or low a position it receives in results. Read on to learn how to write META tags properly and effectively…

TITLE TAG

Perhaps the most important META tag, the TITLE tag determines the clickable title of a search result, as well as the text which appears on the title bar of a web browser. Here are some tips on how to properly write this tag:

• Use fewer than sixty five characters; otherwise, part of the title will be cut off by browsers and search engines.
• Every page on the website needs to have a unique title.
• Your primary keyword target should be at the beginning of the TITLE tag.
• Place your company name at the end of the TITLE tag.

DESCRIPTION TAG

The 2nd most important META tag, DESCRIPTION determines what text appears below the title in search results (with some exceptions). People who visit a webpage will not see this tag, unless they look at the source code. Tips on how to use it properly:

• Keep the description approximately 125-175 characters.
• Don’t put specific data searchers are looking for in the description tag; they might only read it and not visit the site.
• Use the description to market to the user and increase the click through to the website.
• The description is not a ranking factor, but be sure to use your target keyword(s) and keyword phrases so that they will be bold in the search results.

META KEYWORD TAG

A less important META tag is KEYWORDS as many search engines do not use them as a ranking factor.  The META KEYWORD TAG contains one or more search keywords that relate to the web page in question.  Here are a few tips:

• Avoid using more than fifteen keywords, and don’t write any word more than once.
• Use words which aren’t in the TITLE or DESCRIPTION tags but that are in the copy of the page.
• Avoid words that aren’t relevant to the page’s subject.  In fact, using keywords not relevant or included in your page can lead to ranking penalties.
• To properly separate multiple keywords, use commas.

OTHER META TAGS

Some lesser-known META tags are not used by most search engines and browsers, making them minimally useful. However, one other fairly important META tag is ROBOTS. It gives specific instructions to search engine “robots” or “spiders”; automated computer programs which visit and index websites, recording information that will appear in search results.

You may not need to know HTML to write META tags properly. Programs like Frontpage and Dreamweaver allow users to set the META tags for a webpage design automatically. For example, the function for setting META tags in Frontpage is located in “Page properties”, under the “Custom” tab. The TITLE is set under the “General” tab.

Related posts:

1. See Your Website With the Eyes of a Spider

4 Responses to “How to Write META Tags Properly”

1. Check my Pagerank says:

   June 8, 2009 at 10:30 am

   Finally someone who can write a good blog ! . This is the kind of information that is useful to those want to increase their SERP’s. I loved your post and will be telling others about it. Subscribing to your RSS feed now. Thanks
2. seowhitehats says:

   June 8, 2009 at 10:48 am

   Thank you, we appreciate your comment. Your feedback is very much appreciated!

   SEO White Hats
3. Irving Real Estate says:

   July 23, 2009 at 3:11 pm

   Yeah, Dreamweaver is a good application for it and thank you it’s been a great help. I know about meta tags a bit. Assessing pages is the most important part of SEO, otherwise link building is of no use, so thank you for some valuable advices.
4. Silk Flowers for Weddings says:

   August 23, 2009 at 9:18 am

   Thanks for the post. very informative.. but dont you think the meta keyword tag is outdated.. I think google no longer checks the meta keyword.