How to Use HTML Meta Tags

There are three different Meta tags that should be used to prepare a website for optimal search engine exposure:

Meta Description Tag

The Meta Description tag is used to define your website within search engine results. If your website does not contain a Meta Description tag, most search engines will use the first few lines that appear on your web page as a description for your site.

This is not always a good thing. You will attract more traffic to your site if it is described properly. This is where your Description tag comes into play.

If you use raw HTML to create your site, your Meta tag should look like this:



Place your Description tag over the "enter page description here" text. Keep in mind that this description will be displayed within search engine results. Try to phrase the Description tag in a format easily understood by someone who is quickly scanning search results.

Meta Keywords Tag

At one time, the use of a Meta Keywords tag was essential to getting your web page listed with search engines. These days, however, most major search engines ignore these Meta tags.

Even though the Keywords tag is not as significant as it was in the past, it does not take long to create. There are still smaller search engines that use them, so you should take the time to create a Keywords tag in the header of your site.

If you use raw HTML to create your site, your Keywords tag should look like this:



Place your Keywords tag over the "enter your keywords here" text. You should try to use keywords that would be entered into a search engine. You should also make sure that the keywords you use appear on your website. Finally, all of the keywords should be separated by a comma within your tag. (For example: coins, coin collecting, mint condition coins)

Meta Robots tag

Most major search engines also look for a Meta Robots tag. These Meta tags determine how a search engine indexes your site. If you don't use a Robots tag, the search engine will index your main page, but it will not follow the links on the page.

These Meta tags will also keep search engine spiders out if you do not want a particular page indexed.

If you use raw HTML to create your site, and you want the search engine to index your site and follow the links on it, your Robots tag should look like this:



If you do not want the search engine to index your page, use "noindex" instead of "index". If you don't want the search engine to follow the links on your page, use "nofollow" instead of "follow".