Meta Tag Usage - How important is it?

[daoneill]

Good afternoon one and all

Ok let me just start by saying that I am a relative newbie, not up to date at all and hoping to rectify both these flaws (heehee!) by starting afresh and building myself a brand spanking new and compliant website......hopefully!

The Question:
In relation to search engine rankings and descriptions and the like I am aware that it is recommended to use meta tags for keywords, description and such like.

With this in mind I was just wondering exactly what tags are best to use, and just how much data/information should be used to make it as SE friendly as possible.

I know that there are many possible tags available, but also understand that many of them are pointless or irrelevant, so as stated I would just like to know what the "Professionals" consider the best way to use meta tags.

Thanks a million in advance! (",)

David

 

[AusQB]

As I understand it, the two most important meta tags are "keywords" and "description".

 

[daoneill]

Thanks AusQB,

I am aware of those two and thanks for the reply, but again it comes down to the question to what are the best tags to use, and more importantly the best way to use them to maximise SE readability.

Cheers,
David

 

[LouTheDesigner]

As I understand it, the two most important meta tags are "keywords" and "description".

The <title> is VERY important. I think maybe more important than keywords and descriptions.

Does the URL have any bearing on page rank?

 

[AusQB]

The <title> is VERY important. I think maybe more important than keywords and descriptions.

True. I always forget about that. But then again I always make sure my titles are well structured.

 

[Modern_Media]

If you were to put SEO to a structure:

1) Domain Name
2) Title
3) Links (inbound)
4) Links (outbound)
5) Content (must be RELEVANT to your title and links!)
6) Meta Description (should be relevant to your content)
7) Meta Keywords (should be relevant to your content)

There are a LOT more factors than this but keywords have very little impact on your site but they do have significance. What you have to keep in mind is everything MUST be relevant - all good search engines base your site off of relevancy and QUALITY. If you have both, you're on your way.

Hope this helps!

 

[mrandrei]

Title tag is the most important of all tags. It's the first thing that gets crawled by robots. Keyword and description tags are secondary. They, however, need to be relevant to page content.

 

[JordanT]

I'm not sure if this will answer all your questions but I always find the Google Webmaster Blog has good, solid information.

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2007/12/answering-more-popular-picks-meta-tags.html

 

[LouTheDesigner]

hmmm.. so is it the title or the domain? I didn't know domain was so important. I guess because most of my clients chose the same domain as they did title, so I didn't notice the effects.

 

[Modern_Media]

This is a typical "chain of command" in SEO - although nobody knows for sure because search engines heavily guard their algorithms.

1) Domain Name
2) Title
3) Links (inbound)
4) Links (outbound)
5) Content (must be RELEVANT to your title and links!)
6) Meta Description (should be relevant to your content)
7) Meta Keywords (should be relevant to your content)

A domain name has importance but you can SEO just as well without relevant keywords in the domain. It's just a lot easier if your domain contains the target keywords.

Example: if you are trying to sell Blue Shoes

The domain "BlueShoeStore.com" is going to be easier to optimize than "OceanFootwear.com"

 

[LouTheDesigner]

This is a typical "chain of command" in SEO - although nobody knows for sure because search engines heavily guard their algorithms.

1) Domain Name
2) Title
3) Links (inbound)
4) Links (outbound)
5) Content (must be RELEVANT to your title and links!)
6) Meta Description (should be relevant to your content)
7) Meta Keywords (should be relevant to your content)

A domain name has importance but you can SEO just as well without relevant keywords in the domain. It's just a lot easier if your domain contains the target keywords.

Example: if you are trying to sell Blue Shoes

The domain "BlueShoeStore.com" is going to be easier to optimize than "OceanFootwear.com"

Thanks for the good, systematic info.

 

[rericharde]

hi.................

Keyword and description tags are secondary.Title tag is the most important of all tags because the robots first only crawled the title and then only the keywords,discription and all.................