SEO - keywords - meta tags

Author: Lee Rixon

We have dealt with the categories of visible and sometimes visible text. That only leaves text that is not visible to the user. The two categories of entries here are meta tags and html comments.

Meta tags are largely historical in context. They have been so overdone by people practicing SEO on sites, that they are not given that heavy an emphasis by search engines. That being said, they still have a purpose and can add value. IF they support the visible and sometimes visible text, then there is every reason to believe that they add value. However, if there are keywords or description that don't support your visible or semi visible text, then there is every reason to believe they are ignored at best, or used to penalize your ranking at worst.

Html comments are a bit of an unknown. I have no positive evidence that they affect ranking one way or another. To that end - play it safe and add some that contain your search keywords but don't go overboard. If they are supported by visible or sometimes visible text, I don't see that it will do any harm. If anyone knows anything to the contrary - I would really like to hear from them.....

About the author: Lee is one of the principals at Spinnaker Systems which provides Web related services to the small business owner. Lee can be contacted at lee@spinnakersystems.com and is a regular contributor to the Spinnaker Blog