Metatags on php-driven sites

by Sapphire (June 15, 2005)

This is a real “duh” moment, but worth an entry. If you run a PHP-driven site - blog, CMS, etc. - double check to make sure your metatags are in place. At least the important ones according to SiteReportCard, which would be: title, description and keywords. When I last ran one of my blogs through their checker, I realized I hadn’t added them since I last switched templates.

Some blogs and CMS may put metatags together for you with information you enter somewhere in the admin panel. Others don’t. If yours doesn’t, you need to figure out what file contains your page title metatag, then open it up and add the others in. It should be pretty straightforward.

If you’re completely at a loss, go to the support forum for the software you’re using and ask around. Don’t feel silly; I’ve seen experienced users ask questions that basic before, because all these programs are so variable. There are often several ways to do things in php, and you can’t always be expected to know how a given developer goes about it.

Some people argue metatags aren’t important. Others say they are, but give you conflicting advice about how long they should be, and what should be included. I don’t see how they can hurt, and I think sometimes SE bots look for them in order to judge the quality of your site, even if they don’t use them. Again, I recommend SiteReportCard’s metatag generator. Their recommendations seem fairly conservative, which I choose over “cutting edge SEO advice” any day of the week. It may take longer to build when you stick to tradition, but you avoid penalties.

Posted in SEO
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