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Understanding Metatags

With all the new HTML tags that are coming out, it's easy to overlook some of the greatest tools in our arsenal of HTML tricks. There are still a few HTML goodies lying around that'll help you keep your pages more up to date, make them easier to find, and even stop them from becoming framed. What's more, some of these tags have been with us since the first Web browsers were released.

META tags can be very useful for Web developers. They can be used to identify the creator of the page, what HTML specs the page follows, the keywords and description of the page, and the refresh parameter (which can be used to cause the page to reload itself, or to load another page). And these are just a few of the common uses!

First, there are two types of META tags that most people, and search engines are interested in: HTTP-EQUIV and META tags with a NAME attribute.

HTTP-EQUIV

META HTTP-EQUIV tags are the equivalent of HTTP headers. To understand what headers are, you need to know a little about what actually goes on when you use your Web browser to request a document from a Web server. When you click on a link for a page, the Web server receives your browser's request via HTTP. Once the Web server has made sure that the page you've requested is indeed there, it generates an HTTP response. The initial data in that response is called the "HTTP header block." The header tells the Web browser information which may be useful for displaying this particular document.

Just like normal headers, META HTTP-EQUIV tags usually control or direct the actions of Web browsers, and are used to further refine the information which is provided by the actual headers. HTTP-EQUIV tags are designed to affect the Web browser in the same manner as normal headers. Certain Web servers may translate META HTTP-EQUIV tags into actual HTTP headers automatically so that the user's Web browser would simply see them as normal headers. Some Web servers, such as Apache and CERN httpd, use a separate text file which contains meta-data. A few Web server-generated headers, such as "Date," may not be overwritten by META tags, but most will work just fine with a standard Web server.

NAME

META tags with a NAME attribute are used for META types which do not correspond to normal HTTP headers. This is still a matter of disagreement among developers, as some search engine agents (worms and robots) interpret tags which contain the keyword attribute whether they are declared as "name" or "http-equiv," adding fuel to the fires of confusion.

Examples and more details:<META HTTP-EQUIV | NAME CONTENT>

The META tag is used to convey meta-information about the document, but can also be used to specify headers for the document. By using HTTP-EQUIV, a server should use the name indicated as a header, with the specified CONTENT as its value. For example:

<META HTTP-EQUIV="Expires" CONTENT="Tue, 05 Dec 1999 21:29:02 GMT">
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Keywords" CONTENT="AKC Computer Services Corp.,Web Hosting">
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Reply-to" CONTENT="al@akc.com (Al Costanzo)">

The server should include the following response headers when the document is requested:

Expires: Tue, 05 Dec 1999 21:29:02 GMT
Keywords: AKC Computer Services Corp.,Web Hosting
Reply-to: al@akc.com (Al Costanzo)

Understaind the difference between HTTP-EQUIV and NAME

To make sure our explanation is understood, here is an example of the "Keywords" using both HTTP-EQUIV and NAME
Example 1

<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="AKC Computer Services Corporation, AKC, WWW Site Hosting, Web Site Hosting, Web Services,Web Registration, Domain Registration, Domain Holding, InterNIC Registrar, Domain Name, Domain Name Registration, Computer Consulting, Real Audio,World,Wide,Web,Hosting, Computers, Internet Service Provider, Internet Service Providers, ISP, Multimedia, GIF, gif89a, gifs,GIF Animation, Flying Logos, Logo Animation, Multimedia, 3D Animation Services">

Example 2

<META HTTP-EQUIV="keywords" CONTENT="AKC Computer Services Corporation, AKC, WWW Site Hosting, Web Site Hosting, Web Services,Web Registration, Domain Registration, Domain Holding, InterNIC Registrar, Domain Name, Domain Name Registration, Computer Consulting, Real Audio,World,Wide,Web,Hosting, Computers, Internet Service Provider, Internet Service Providers, ISP, Multimedia, GIF, gif89a, gifs,GIF Animation, Flying Logos, Logo Animation, Multimedia, 3D Animation Services">

In the above examples, Example 1 would be used by search engines and robots to index the keywords on your page. Example 2 however should be used either by the webserver that is hosting the page or the browser that is displaying the page to display the keyword list.

Other Popular Meta Tags

Popular uses for META include:

<META NAME="generator" CONTENT="Some program">

This indicates the program used to generate this document. It is often the name of the HTML editor used.

<META NAME="author" CONTENT="Name">

This indicates the name of the author.

<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="keyword keyword keyword">

Provides keywords for search engines such as Infoseek or Alta Vista. These are added to the keywords found in the document itself. <META NAME="description" CONTENT="This is a site">

Search engines which support the above tag will now display the text you specify here, rather than the first few lines of text from the actual document when the document shows up in a search result. You have about 1,000 characters for your description, but not all these will be used.

Placement of META tags

META tags should always be placed in the head of the HTML document between the actual <HEAD> tags, before the <BODY> tag. This is very important with framed pages, as a lot of developers tend to forget to include them on individual framed pages. Remember, if you only use <META> tags on the frameset pages, you'll be missing a large number of potential hits.
Tricks and Tips
There are many tricks and tips to getting your page places higher into the search engines ranking list. The order of the Meta Tags on the page is important. Frequent submissions and the number of times someone selects your page from the Engines list all make a difference.

When we host a website for you, some of our hosting plans include us creating the meta tags for you and doing the submissions. This page will of couse, not give away the secrets to how we place your pages up at the top. If we told, everyone would know how to do it!