Tag (metadata)

A.   Metadata

A tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information (such as an internet bookmark, digital image, or computer file). This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching. Tags are chosen informally and personally by the item's creator or by its viewer, depending on the system.

Meta Title:  summarize what the page is about. (Similar to a book title or article title).when a search for a site is made the title is the portion of information that is displayed above the browser.  It is the default title your browser and book-marking sites will automatically use when people decide to “save” your site for future use.  Also, it is what search engines use to figure out what the site is about.  Compared to everything else on your page, it gets the most “weight” from the search engines and so it should be the most important element on your page. When choosing your title we recommend using clear and easy to read title.

 Meta Description: This is a summary of the web page. Your Meta description should be no more than 150 characters and should give a clear description of what you intend to promote or sell.

Keywords:  This component provides a set of key terms or words that describe the web page.  At some point in search engine life the keywords element was very heavily used or weighted towards determining the context of a web page.  It was a quick way for the search engine to “Determine” what a web page was about instead of having to scan all the content.  But, as time went on, people started abusing the use of keywords. Search optimizers used popular or highly search meta-keywords element that were unrelated to their web page’s content to obtain higher ranking in their searches.   As a result of this abuse, the importance of the meta-keywords element has been greatly weakened.  Search engines no longer look at this information as the authoritative way to outline context.

Tip: We still recommend the use of meta-keywords element but make sure that they relate to your content otherwise you may be penalize by search engine. Also from our research we know that search engines don't weigh keywords as heavily as they used to, but when used in the right manner can help with your page optimization.  We would advocate keeping the keywords to 10 or less placing the most important keyword first.

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