A META tag provides information about a Web page. Unlike typical 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. Several search engines utilise this information when building their indices. Basically META data is machine-understandable information for the World Wide Web.
The TITLE tag should include keywords and describe what exactly your web page is about. The TITLE must be brief enough to fit within the search engine’s parameters but concise and interesting enough to peak the browser’s interest. This is so that out of all the pages represented in the search engine’s results the browser will be drawn to your Web page because of TITLE content and DESCRIPTION below. You must be creative and resourceful while still staying within the search enginge guidelines. The TITLE tag should be the first tag and about 40 to 150 characters.
The DESCRIPTION tag is similar; however rather than listing keywords and phrases, you provide a brief, concise description of your page. This description will be used by the search engines to describe the page and it is a terrific spot to place your organization’s slogan or an additional promotional or descriptive phrase that catches the attention of the reader. Don’t forget, most of the search engines will only use 50 to 250 characters or so. Focus first on the page’s content and not your firm’s slogan.
The KEYWORD tag provides keywords that search engine users submit to find websites like yours. You should invest some serious effort in the process of deciding exactly what keywords are best for your site. Scour a thesaurus, brainstorm with friends and colleagues, and try to think like your clients will think. What words will they use to find your page? There is a lot of psychology behind discovering the appropriate, effective keywords that will really work for you by inducing the kind of targeted website traffic you desire. Put the most useful words first. These keywords will decide where your site is located in a search engine results listing. We recommend 75 to 125 characters and localised information such as what you do, where you are and your post code region.
