[Moderators: I created this tutorial on another forum, but since it serves just as well here, I figured I could post it here as a reference. If you find a copy of this tutorial somewhere, it's because I posted it; if you really require it, I can show proof.]
So, you've got your beginning page started, your homepage is defined, neat, and it looks like everyone will love it - STOP. Do you really think your site will be even accidently view by anyone, even if you do have a bought domain?! Don't kid yourself; the fact of the matter is, you're just one infantesimle speck in the universe of much greater websites than yours. Don't worry, though - I got your back. Here, I'm gonna explain what meta tags are, and what they're used for. I'm also going to show how to utilize them for your site, to increase your traffic.
What are Meta Tags/What are they Used for?
Meta tags are HTML tags which are used to identify your site. More specifically, as an example, meta tags will give your site at least the slim chance of being caught by the search engine crawlers*, which are, in a sense, lazy; they barely want to look at your site, they just want a "superficial" look; hence, the meta tags.
How do I Add them to My Site?
To add them to your site, first realize this form:
Meta tags fit in there right after the TITLE tag and before the end of the HEAD tag:
I'll explain some of the confusing meta tags:
UNICODE: Unicode is the necessary for identifying the specific set of characters that you use; sites without them will result in browsers using a default unicode.
GENERATOR: Generator is simply the program you used to create your HTML page; Stone's WebWriter, wysiwyg editors (though you might need the name of that editor), and others could fall into this category.
DESCRIPTION: C'mon, really? Do you really need me to tell you that description just implies the details of your site; what it's about?! Get a grip people!
AUTHOR: I'm not even explaining this one...
REPLY-TO: Just your e-mail that you can be reached at.
TITLE: The title of your site, jeez...
There you go; those were just some of the meta tags you can add to ultimately create more traffic to your site. Ask around, I'm sure you'll find some other useful tags to spice your site up.
Go for it...
---------------------------------------
crawlers*: simply put, the "robots" that anally search your site to identify; that's where my "meta tag" deal fits in. H**l, you could "loophole" the crawlers with incorrect data - might be a bit difficult though...
--------------------------------------
So, you've got your beginning page started, your homepage is defined, neat, and it looks like everyone will love it - STOP. Do you really think your site will be even accidently view by anyone, even if you do have a bought domain?! Don't kid yourself; the fact of the matter is, you're just one infantesimle speck in the universe of much greater websites than yours. Don't worry, though - I got your back. Here, I'm gonna explain what meta tags are, and what they're used for. I'm also going to show how to utilize them for your site, to increase your traffic.
What are Meta Tags/What are they Used for?
Meta tags are HTML tags which are used to identify your site. More specifically, as an example, meta tags will give your site at least the slim chance of being caught by the search engine crawlers*, which are, in a sense, lazy; they barely want to look at your site, they just want a "superficial" look; hence, the meta tags.
How do I Add them to My Site?
To add them to your site, first realize this form:
| Code: |
| <html>
<head> <title>YOUR TITLE HERE</title> </head> <body> YOUR MAIN TEXT HERE </body> </html> |
Meta tags fit in there right after the TITLE tag and before the end of the HEAD tag:
| Code: |
| <html>
<head> <title>YOUR TITLE HERE</title> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=YOUR UNICODE HERE" /> <meta name="generator" content="YOUR GENERATOR HERE" /> <meta name="description" content="YOUR DESCRIPTION HERE" /> <meta name="author" content="YOUR NAME HERE" /> <meta name="reply-to" content="YOUR SITE/MAIN E-MAIL HERE" /> <meta name="title" content="YOUR SITE TITLE HERE" /> </head> <body> YOUR MAIN TEXT HERE </body> </html> |
I'll explain some of the confusing meta tags:
UNICODE: Unicode is the necessary for identifying the specific set of characters that you use; sites without them will result in browsers using a default unicode.
GENERATOR: Generator is simply the program you used to create your HTML page; Stone's WebWriter, wysiwyg editors (though you might need the name of that editor), and others could fall into this category.
DESCRIPTION: C'mon, really? Do you really need me to tell you that description just implies the details of your site; what it's about?! Get a grip people!
AUTHOR: I'm not even explaining this one...
REPLY-TO: Just your e-mail that you can be reached at.
TITLE: The title of your site, jeez...
There you go; those were just some of the meta tags you can add to ultimately create more traffic to your site. Ask around, I'm sure you'll find some other useful tags to spice your site up.
Go for it...
---------------------------------------
crawlers*: simply put, the "robots" that anally search your site to identify; that's where my "meta tag" deal fits in. H**l, you could "loophole" the crawlers with incorrect data - might be a bit difficult though...
--------------------------------------
