How Important Are META Tags

We often read about web developers saying META tags are "old hat" and "no longer important" in modern search engine optimisation practices so we thought it would be a good idea if we were to display a short article clearing up any misinformation and explain extactly what these tags do. (Source "webmarketingnow")

Types Of META Tags

Abstract Meta

Gives a short summary of the description. The Meta Abstract is used primarily with academic papers. The content for this tag is usually 10 words or less. Example of a Meta Abstract: Recommendation on Meta Abstract: This is an optional Meta tag. It will not assist you with the major search engines. If you have content that is highly specialized, the use of the Meta Abstract tag will allow search engines that are apart of your field of expertise to index your website correctly. Currently the Meta Abstract tag is not a part of Google, Yahoo!, or Bing algorithms.

Meta Author

The Meta Author tag will display the author of the document. This Meta tag will reference the name of the person who developed the HTML/XML document being viewed. If you use the Meta Author tag, it is recommended to use it with the author's first and last name. It is not recommended to have the inclusion of the author's email address due to the proliferation of Spam.

Meta Content Language

The Meta Content Language tag declares the natural language of the document. This is also known as the Meta Name Language. Robots use this tag to categorize the language of the web page.

Meta Content Script Type

The Meta Content Script Type tag is used to specify the default scripting language of the document. Recommendations for Meta Content Script Type: It is advised not to use the Meta Content Script Type tag. Search engines do not need this tag to detect scripts as they do this on their own. Browsers do not use this tag either, as they have other detection methods in place.

Meta Content Style Type

The Meta Content Style Type is used to specify the default Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) language for the documents.

Meta Content Type

Used to declare the character set. The Meta Content Type tag is used to declare the character set of a website. It has become recommended to always use the Meta Content Type tag. If you fail to do so, it may cause display problems.

Meta Copyright

The Meta Copyright tag is used to include a copyright, trademark, patent, or other information that pertains to intellectual property.

Meta Description

The Meta Description tag gives a brief overview of the document. The Meta Description tag is a short, plain language description of the document, usually consisting of 20-25 words or less. Search engines that support the Meta Description tag will use the information to publish on their search results page, normally displaying below the Title of your site listing.

Meta Designer

The Meta Designer tag is used to declare the designer of the website. The Meta Designer tag is optional to use. Usually web designers who want advertising or to catch people hijacking their designs use the Meta Designer tag. It should be understood that search engines do not support the Meta Designer tag.

Meta Distribution

The Meta Distribution tag is used to declare the distribution of your web content. The three classifications of distribution are: �Global (the entire web) �Local (reserved for the local IP block of your site) �IU (Internal Use, not for public distribution).

Meta Expires

The Meta Expires tag is used to declare the date and time after which the web document should be considered expired. It is recommended not to use the Meta Expires tag. While the Meta Expires tag is good conceptually, it is impractical for search engines.

Meta Generator

The Meta Generator tag is used to declare the name and version number of the publishing tool used to create the page. Tool vendors use the Meta Generator tag to assess market penetration.

Meta Google

The Meta Google tag has several options that are exclusive for use with Google. These include: 1.Googlebot: noarchive - does not allow Google to display cached content 2.Googlebot: nosnippet - does not allow Google to display excerpted or cached content 3.Googlebot: noindex - similar to the robots meta element 4.Googlebot: nofollow - does not allow Google to pass any PageRank or link popularity to the link served.

Meta Language

The Meta Language tag is used to declare the language used on the website.

Meta Keywords

The Meta Keywords tag is used to list keywords that define the content of your site. In addition to words from the title, document body, and other areas search engines use keywords to properly index your site. The Meta Keywords tag is typically used for synonyms and alternates of title words.

Meta MS Smart Tags

The Meta MS Smart tags were part of a beta test of Internet Explorer and were removed due to negative press and feedback from users. In short, Microsoft would sell keyword phrases, then the Meta MS Smart Tags would allow those keywords to be highlighted on web pages that would take the user to the advertiser's site. This would mean your site could promote your competitor's site without your consent.

Meta MSN (No ODP)

The Meta MSN (No ODP) tag is used for your description in the Bing search results instead of the description used in DMOZ.

Meta Pragma No Cache

The Meta Pragma No Cache tag is used to prevent visitors from seeing a cached version of a specific page. The Meta Pragma No Cache tag forces the browser to pull information from the server each time the page is viewed.

Meta Publisher

The Meta Publisher tag is used to declare the name and version number of the publishing tool used to create the page. The Meta Publisher tag is the same as the Meta Generator tag.

Meta Rating

The Meta Rating tag is used to display a content rating similar to the movie rating system (i.e. Safe For Children).

Meta Refresh

The Meta Refresh tag is used to specify a delay in seconds before the browser automatically reloads the document or URL specified

Meta Reply To

The Meta Reply To tag is used to harvest email addresses. The Meta Reply To tag is a Spammers tag. The Meta Reply To tag picks up your email address, then hits you fast and hard with offers-a-plenty.

Meta Resource Type

The Meta Resource Type tag is used to declare the resource of a page. It is recommended not to use the Meta Resource Type tag.

Meta Revisit After

The Meta Revisit After tag is used to inform search engines when to return to index your site. It has been stated that the Meta Revisit After tag will boost your site's rankings with search engines that credit fresh pages.

Meta Robots

The Meta Robots tag controls search engine robots on a per-page basis. It tells Robots they may traverse the page, but not index it.

Meta Set Cookie

The Meta Set Cookie tag is a cookie used to set a cookie in the user's web browser. If you use an expiration date, the cookie is considered permanent and will be saved to disk until it expires. Otherwise it will be considered valid only for the current session and will be erased upon closing the Web browser.

Meta Subject

The Meta Subject tag is used to declare the subject of the web site. It is recommended not to use the Meta Subject tag. No third party agents, including browsers and search engines, support the Meta Subject tag

Meta Title

The Meta Title tag is used to declare the title of the page.

Meta VW96.ObjectType

The Meta VW96.ObjectType is used to define the purpose of specific pages. This is based on an early version of the Dublin Core report, using a defined schema of document types such as FAQ, HOW TO, etc.