Understanding What Meta Tags Are
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Methodology
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a methodology that is used by web designers and other people who work on websites in order to improve the likelihood that a web page will be found by a search engine. Not only that, but to display the web page higher up in the list of results. Keywords in meta tags are very, very useful in making this a reality for any web page.
There are many ways in which these small pieces of code can be used in a web page. From describing the type of content contained in the web page, to giving information about the locations a company provides service to, and giving keywords about what the web page is for; they are very powerful pieces of HTML code. The most widely known use for them is to provide keywords for search engines to read and catalog in their indexes.
By typing keywords in between these tags, the person writing the HTML code for the web page makes it possible for search engines to go through this information so that it may be utilized during the process of choosing which web pages to display based on what search terms are being given by a person performing a search. It's basically one more way for a search engine to get information about a web page, which helps it determine if and when to display it in search results.
Meta Tags and SEO
Because the search engines have more information about web pages that contain these tags, they choose to display those web pages more often then those that don't have them. And not only that, but they also display these pages higher up in the list of results than web pages that don't have them. That can be very desirable for people who want to have their web page viewed as many times, and as often as possible.
The reasons why the someone might want their web page to be viewed as many times as possible are many; but they all generally lead to one of two things. Either they want their name or what they have to say to be more well-known (such as in the case of blogs), or they want to sell more products (or services). The more times a web page is viewed, the more people will know the bloggers name and what they think about the topics they write about.
Web Page Traffic
And the more times a business' web page is viewed, the more likely it is that someone will choose to buy something from that business. Their company name becomes more widely-known just like bloggers do, which helps to sway consumers' choices toward the ones that company provides. This in turn has the result of increasing sales, revenue, and profit. And of course, since maximizing profit is one of the main goals of most companies, getting more web page views is a very worthwhile goal.
Helping Search Engines
As you can see, meta tags are very powerful for Search Engine Optimization because they help search engines match web pages with search terms. And whether the person who built the web page wants to increase their own popularity or increase the sales for their company, meta tags are very helpful ways in doing so.
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© 2010 Ron Legarski