Meta Tag lark

Discussion in 'CIW Certifications' started by rwilmot, Jun 28, 2006.

  1. rwilmot

    rwilmot Nibble Poster

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    Can someone please take a look at this website and the source code that I created for a client, www.gpschoolofmotoring.co.uk. I really do not know what is wrong with it and i'm pretty sure its the damn Meta tags. I have submitted his site numerous times to Google via Googles own submission tool and also through the host, 123-reg.co.uk. I am asking in this forum because i know there are a lot of geniuses in here :biggrin

    Please help, the guy is getting quite annoyed cause his site doesn't come up at all! Even with different search criteria! :(

    Thanks Guys
     
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  2. Mr.Cheeks

    Mr.Cheeks 1st ever Gold Member! Gold Member

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    it takes time to goes through the net, plus i think Google dont use Meta tags, i think they change the rules as now it depends on how many people link to your site and all the bots for search engines will crawl through your site, its can be hours or weeks...

    for google see here here
     
  3. d-Faktor
    Honorary Member

    d-Faktor R.I.P - gone but never forgotten.

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    metatags are so 1999. maybe some arcane search engine still uses metatags for listing sites, but nowadays to get higher ranking "just" get great content and get linked.
     
  4. nugget
    Honorary Member

    nugget Junior toady

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    That's about all you need, plus pay for google ads malarky.
     
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  5. Clyde

    Clyde Megabyte Poster

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    meta tags are only part of the equation. If you read the submission guidelines for the various engines you'll read that they take their time indexing non paying sites.

    Also re your tags, it may be nicer to capitalise placenames.. just for show like...
     
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  6. csx

    csx Megabyte Poster

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    Just put the url on some forums/blogs (like in your signature) and then eventually it'll get up some what on the search engines.
     
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  7. Clyde

    Clyde Megabyte Poster

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    at number 34,523 !!!!
     
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  8. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    It might help search engines index the relevant key words if you hadn't put the company name which is a major key word in a picture. Also welcome to GP school of motoring is a picture. Search engines cannot parse pictures for data :wink:
     
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  9. jodsclass

    jodsclass Byte Poster

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    Meta tags are still important, trust me. The link ranking system is wide open to abuse through directory pages and those damn link exchanges. If you really want to get good google ranking you should format your meta tags according to the Dublin Core standards. These standards govern meta tagging of all electronic data including library content and repository content. Well formatted meta tags will boost you right up there in the google ranking for nothing. You need a fine blend of tags, content, linking and patience. Trust me on this one though, your meta tags are important, and are certainly not out of date as we approach web 2.0 and the semantic web!

    If you need more info on this let me know.

    Jodsclass
     
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  10. d-Faktor
    Honorary Member

    d-Faktor R.I.P - gone but never forgotten.

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    yes, please!!! i would love to see some references verifying that the use of meta tags will boost ranking in the google index.

    in the mean time, let me give you some references that state otherwise:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_tags
    http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=40349&ctx=related
    http://www.sitepoint.com/article/top-10-google-myths-revealed/2
    http://web.cornell.edu/resources/google_help/rank.html
    http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/article.php/2167931
    http://www.webmarketingnow.com/tips/meta-tags-uncovered.html
    http://www.traffick.com/article.asp?aID=102
    http://www.webrankinfo.com/english/content/meta-tags.php
    http://www.clickz.com/experts/search/opt/article.php/3503596
    http://www.searchengineguide.com/beal/2003/0603_ab1.html
    http://www.suestudios.com/articles/article29.htm

    i'm not saying that meta tags are useless. they can help a search engine to classify a site, but not to index a site. there is a difference.
     
  11. jodsclass

    jodsclass Byte Poster

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    D-Faktor, I think we have our wires crossed somewhere. I don't have written references on this, We discussed it at Uni with a SEO firm who came in for an open day. Meta tags do boost rankings because they allow for meta only search engines to find content. This in turn helps distribute urls around the net faster and thus will sneak you up the ranking faster than relying solely on google to index the site. Also the meta tags help the spider bots to extract data from pages. I'm not saying you should rely solely on meta content, as I said in my previous post you need a find blend of tags, content, linking and patience. I was simply stating that meta tags are not useless as so many people now believe.

    Dublin core metadata may not be as important to search engines as it once was, but for information professionals it is vital. It takes 20 mins or so to format good metadata and its a good habbit to get into.

    Re: the original question. You may be struggling to get ranked in google becuase you submitted the url more than once and from more than one source. Googles bots sometimes see this as abuse of the submission system and as a result can blacklist the url or drop it far down the ranking topunish the abuse.

    Jodsclass

    P.S. not wanting to get anyones backs up, just giving my 2 cents worth. Many of the SEO's I have spoken to swear by the use of metadata so I always use it just out of habbit.
     
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  12. Keimos

    Keimos Byte Poster

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    Hi Richie,

    First thing is to get your metatags right. Google uses them but not to the extent of some other search engines. The are part of the bigger equation. Next, G is not the only player in town, MSN and Yahoo rank up there, they do use metatags more than G does.

    See some suggestions

    Insert your DOC Type here, it helps browsers to tarnslate your page so people can see it as you designed it.
    <html>
    <head>

    <title>::: Welcome To Gary Phillips' School of Motoring :::</title> Who the hell is looking for ::: or Gary Phillips - title - Gary Phillips - Driving Instructor - Gary Phillips is included because he may have spoken to somebody but it is there more of an insurance than an actual search. Nobody looks for School of motoring, if I was looking, I would look for driving intructor

    <META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
    <META NAME="CREATOR" content="Richie Wilmot, dreamweaver mx, coldfusion mx, photoshop cs2"> get rid, not needed.

    <META NAME="KEYWORDS" content="gary phillips, school of motoring, gary phillips school of motoring, Affordable lessons, driving, instruction, driving instruction, crash courses, intensive courses, intensive driving, learner, learner driving, stowmarket, suffolk, pass plus, dvla, learning"> cut this down to total search terms - driving, instruction, driving instruction, stowmarket, learner, learner driving, dvla, learning, how to pass a driving course

    <META NAME="DESCRIPTION" content="Welcome to Gary Phillips' website, here you will find information on driving lessons in stowmarket and the surrounding areas. 1 hour lessons start from just £20.00 per hour!">

    Suggestion

    Welcome to Gary Phillips' website, here you will find information on driving lessons in Suffolk, stowmarket and the surrounding areas.

    What you have to remember is that metatags are a very concise CV that the majority of search engines, directories use to classify your site. They only use them as a guide and your content has to match that guide. The key to being found is to find out how people would look for you. The phone book and yellow pages wil put you on the right path

    jodsclass - with you all the way

    d-Faktor - we are all righ in our own way but as above G is not the only player. You have to cater for others. Indexing a site is about links and there we go onto another ball game.

    Have fun out there, its a search engine war if you did not know!!!

    Keimos
     
    Certifications: Microsoft Office Specialist

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