Meta Tags?

[RTK]

Hi,

I'm trying to put together a simple website and have another (probably) pathetically simple question, this time about Meta Tags.

- Is there/what is the difference between how a search engine treats, e.g:

Xara
xara
XARA

Is it enough to have something in lowercase?

How does it work? I have looked around but can't find anything - the tags for the sites with the information are probably screwed up... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Peeking at the 'source' of different sites shows a huge variaty.

Someone help!? I promise to post the URL when it is ready, so you can rip it apart - OK? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

One last question: Once a year your wife asks you to do the 'white laundry' - how come a bright red sock always ends up in the washing machine?!?!?

Risto

diri@videotron.ca

[RTK]

Hi,

I'm trying to put together a simple website and have another (probably) pathetically simple question, this time about Meta Tags.

- Is there/what is the difference between how a search engine treats, e.g:

Xara
xara
XARA

Is it enough to have something in lowercase?

How does it work? I have looked around but can't find anything - the tags for the sites with the information are probably screwed up... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Peeking at the 'source' of different sites shows a huge variaty.

Someone help!? I promise to post the URL when it is ready, so you can rip it apart - OK? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

One last question: Once a year your wife asks you to do the 'white laundry' - how come a bright red sock always ends up in the washing machine?!?!?

Risto

diri@videotron.ca

[ajreed]

I like pathetically simple questions, I feel I'm in with half a chance of providing an answer that looks slightly clever. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

I have looked in my html bible and the suggestion is that the case is set to what most people might submit to a search engine when making their enquiry. Ie capital letters for words that would usually be written with one. By implication it follows that case is important, not to how the search engine regards your tags, but to how it matches your tags against those of the searcher.

I get the impression the search engine just sits there as a matching machine, caring not what you or the searcher use case-wise.

As to your second question - it's Gods way of ensuring the frequency of such requests made to husbands does not increase in frequency above that which it is now. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Alan

[RTK]

... Alan... I think...

I believe you are saying that it matters? So basically I should add all those different ways of writing 'Xara', just to be sure?

Quote: "the suggestion is that the case is set to what most people might submit". ----- Why not add all the different variations?

Alan, thanks for your reply!, but perhaps you could clarify?

Your laundry comment makes sense - I have been kindly asked to stay away from it [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Risto

diri@videotron.ca

[Sean Sedwards]

Why not try a few search engines with different forms of the same word? If it makes a differnece you'll get different results. My experience is that it doesn't usually matter.

Regards - Sean

[roman]

It stores the word in original "shape" (ignores grammar words like a, the etc. usually)

then

Mainly for speed reasons it ignores caps/smalls when searching.

but,

When you use caps, it searches in caps too. (check advaced search help e.g. on altavista)

Roman

[traceyp]

I also wondered what effect capitals would have on things and perhaps a year or so ago, I checked out the search engine help for the difference between entering a capital (or all upper case), and all lower case in the search engine help. I think at the time I was on Alta Vista, although I understand that even this uses Google these days, and the difference was that if you put an upper case character anywhere in the search term, the search engine will look for exactly what you enter. However, if you enter ONLY lower case characters, then the search engine will come up with ALL instances whether what it finds contains capitals or not. My advice would be to put the Meta Tags in ALL lower case and there should not be a problem. That is, of course, unless things have changed since I checked out the search engine help - but I doubt it. To make sure check out the search engine help.

Tracey

[gwpriester]

Use all three. There is no limit to the number of ways you can state something in a Meta Tag.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

<a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~garypriester">
Be it ever so humble...</a>

http://www.thuntek.net/gwp/flag.jpg

[nwilkinson]

Search Engine World.

Nick Wilkinson.
IsoCalc.com

[RTK]

Thanks all!

Nicholas - super link! Special thanks!

Risto

diri@videotron.ca