Statistics show that only one of every four Web Sites have Meta tags. However using these tags can give your site an advantage over other sites that do not. Meta tags enable most visitors to initially find your site from search engines.

What are Meta Tags? These are HTML tags that provide information that describes content of web pages that visitor will be viewing. Web Site owners use this resource to control their positioning and descriptions in search engines. Most search engines incorporate reading meta tags as part of their indexing formula.

Where to Place Meta Tags They should go in between and tags in your html page.

Types of Meta Tags The Doctype tag The DTD (Document Type Definition) tag precedes opening tag. It is generally first element to be used on any page. It distinguishes version of HTML in use from other versions of HTML and tells browser what tags to expect when laying out page.

If a browser doesn't understand a tag, it just ignores it. This, in effect, renders useless. For proponents of strict standardization, a statement like would ensure standardization. If a browser didn't recognize statement, it could ignore page.

META Tags and Document Identification The syntax for tag is:

or

The tag requires CONTENT attribute and adds either NAME or HTTP-EQUIV attribute. These define general information you are creating or changing in document, and CONTENT attribute defines value of general information.

HTTP-EQUIV Attribute tags are equivalent to HTTP headers. To understand headers, you must understand process that occurs when you use a Web browser to request a document from a Web server. You request information using your browser and Web Server receives your request via HTTP, standard Web protocol. When server finds page you requested, it generates an HTTP response. The initial data in that response is called HTTP header block. This header gives Web browser information useful for displaying page.