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Are Meta tags really dead?

PremiumMember
cdidcott
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20 Jan 07 5:53 pm

Are Meta tags really dead?

I just found this article entitled, Death of a meta tag.

http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2165061

I thought meta tags let the crawlers know what keywords you intend to target and that is then confirmed in your content. Which would mean Meta tags still have their uses.

Am I right or are Meta tags really dead?
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PremiumMember
chatyak86
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20 Jan 07 6:07 pm

 Without even reading that I can tell you........ Yes and No.

There are many search engines that use the keyword tag a lot... Yahoo and MSN being two of the most important. Google doesn't really need it that much because it can determine what your page is about based on the content. With that said, if you choose not to use the keyword tag, you might see yourself lacking in the results. I keep saying, all you need to know is here in the lessons and videos! There is a lot of talk out there, but not many people are self made millionaires from web marketing. :wink:

Adrian,
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PremiumMember
sean06
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20 Jan 07 11:23 pm

 For the effort of typing a few words in, meta tags are probably worth it. And if you don't stuff a heap of keywords, they certainly won't hurt you.
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nerodea
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21 Jan 07 3:57 am

 Meta tags work for me. I wouldn't get too proccupied with what a lot of these articles. With SEO, I have found that there is a ton of controversy. If you really want to know how to do it, look at the lessons in affilorama, and ask questions form people in the forum. These guys really know what they are talking about.
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pa4321
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03 Nov 08 4:35 pm

 Metatags vare not dead.Simply there are also many others questions to look for.I agree with the comment before that dont fight too much for this isnt worth your time!!
Paul
"http://pa321.blogspot.com"
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aletta
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03 Nov 08 9:33 pm

 Hi Paul.

I like your article on the "one traffic magic plan". ( "http://pa321.blogspot.com/2008/10/one-traffic-magic-plan.html" ).

Kinda reminds me of this: "https://www.affilorama.com/web-2/web-2-backlink-method"

:)
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superaff
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04 Nov 08 5:56 pm

 Dead or not, it will just take you one minute to add them.

Just do it!

As said above, many search engine still use them. Google is not the only one...

All the best,
Franck
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aletta
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04 Nov 08 9:42 pm

 Meta description is still pretty useful as well... not in the traditional sort of SEO sense (making your page appear higher in the search engines) but in the "getting more clicks on your listing" sense, since the search engines often use your meta description as the descriptive text in your listing.

If you make sure you include your major keywords in your meta description it's pretty likely it'll be used, and if your description looks nice and informative you'll get more clicks.
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superaff
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06 Nov 08 6:14 am

 That's right Aletta.

Your description in the search engines is very important. I scan them before clicking on a link whenever I am searching for something.
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kristine
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18 Nov 08 3:01 am

 Adrian is right that Yahoo does take the meta keywords tag into account (at least for now). Google however, does not.

I usually suggest to place only the keyword (or words) that you're optimizing that page for within your meta keywords tag. Nothing more than that. The last thing you want to do is stuff that meta tag with keywords unrelated to your page.

And what Aletta said about your description tag was dead on. You should place your keywords within your description as they will get bolded when your web page shows in the search engine results. Google does take your meta description tag into account - it won't give you much by way of a traffic boost but it does help, as Aletta said to get people to your site.

I like to think of the meta description tag as a "mini sales page" to encourage people to visit my site over my competitions.

- Kristine
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macdee1823
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19 Nov 08 1:44 pm

 Meta tags are not important to Google at all now, but they are in fact important to you. A good description on the serps for your site can be the deciding factor in whether you get the click or not. The meta description should be optimized with the reader in mind, the meta keywords tag is completely ignored by Google now. You can still use it if you feel it's necessary but I wouldn't expose your top keywords for your competitors to steal. Just include some random keywords that appear on your pages and that's that.
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