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Meta Tags & SEO - The Same?

I am trying to understand this, but I think I might be in over my head. I was using the Meta Keywords, not realizing that it seems to have a very low importance in search engines.

Is Meta Tags and SEO the same thing? I have seen programs that work with SMF. My question is what would be best for me to use and is this something I should do or hire someone else to do it for me. I would like the forum to raise on the searches, but at this point it seems to be stuck on the second page. I already have a person who does the modifications for me, so I am not looking for someone to hire. I did search and read posts concerning this but were so outdated that I decided to make my own post concerning this.

Currently running SMF 2.0.10

Thank you, Jim

Same - SEO and Tags Meta

Not really, there is a lot of hype out there and then there is the truth. Meta tags are VERY important. Abuse or under use of meta tags is where the problem begins.

No, one leads to the other, here is the break down:
SEO = Search Engine Optimization
Meta tags = Tools that lead to SEO

Therefore, you use meta tags to better help tell search engines about your site.

We actually do not consider any thread here out dated. Usually the information evolves or resolves to something else but each thread has its merit. For instance nothing has ever changed about meta tags. The difference between a decade ago and now is simply people abusing them to the point that search engines MAY view it differently, but not always. You see it all depends on how your site is rated. For instance Google will read meta tags differently than let's say Yahoo or Bing.

This depends on your knowledge of meta tags. Simply, each page of content on your site should be well described by each meta tag and not try to 'con' the search engine into seeing something that is not the page's content. Redundancy of meta tags is also a problem. Have you edited or manipulated meta tags before?

Meta Tags & SEO - The Same? Gaming Video & Issues Computer

No I haven't tried to change anything on them at this point. I have looked at them at the site admin area and also on cpanel. SMF is a great for me, I do read about the different settings to try and make sure I am setting it up right but as of now I think there is still much for me to learn.

I am very hesitant on changing anything in the html area. I believe the only way to make these changes are from cpanel. I have read about the type of changes that I need to make but also that there seems to be some differences between my site and others out there. I did have my site analyzed and it seems to have a few problems.

*Not quite sure what this is.

*Seems that is good.

*I know where this is in the file, but not quite sure how to change it at this time.

*I have key words under meta in the forum admin area. I want to make sure that I get it correct and not abuse it.

*Know where it is but again hesitant on changing it.

*Not sure about this one since it isn't a company and not planning on making money using this site.

*This is a bit confusing since what I have is a forum.

*I tried removing some of the urls, but it never made a change in the count.

*This seems alright.

*Not quite sure how to correct this problem.

Thank you for your response.

Jim

Message Edited...
JB: Please use the quote tags so its easier to see your words from words copied from elsewhere.

Same - SEO and Tags Meta

SMF provides you with the basic meta tags and that's all you need. I have not studied SMF's meta tags entirely to see if they customize it based on pages.

I'm going to verify this now with my own SMF test site:
As it turns out SMF gets the title and description from your topic title. The keywords come from what you put in SMF admin. While this is not the best solution its a start.

The ideal will be to have a unique description about 140 characters long of the page that is different than the title. The keywords, where possible should also compliment content. For instance, if you have a topic about apples and your keywords is "Oranges" Then it won't add up.

My fist tip would be to see if SMF has a Mod that improves this area, have you checked?

Main point: if you are specifically looking for traffic from Google then there are three main things that you will have to concentrate on based on Google's current algorithm:

1. Updated content
2. Mobile responsive site
3. Relevant sites link to you

Those 3 things is what increases Google perception of your site and there can be depth of discussion on each as well.

Same - SEO and Tags Meta

Yes there are mods on SMF concerning this. I have installed Optimus Brave. There are a few others but I choose this one. If it doesn't do what I like there is also a mod that you can pay for.

I am currently reading to see what needs to be done. Not so sure I feel brave right now. I will spend some time with it and see if I can improve the site on getting new visitors. Every time a article comes out there is a spike in visitors and I would like to gain readers when that happens.

Meta Tags & SEO - The Same?

I just checked Optimus Brave and that should do it for you as far as Meta Tags.

After you have set it up properly the next test is to see how Google passes your site as far as being mobile responsive. Test your site here: Source 4z

If you have a Gmail account you may also want to register your domain with Google's Webmaster Tools. In there Google will analyze your site and tell you what it doesn't like: Source 1p

Meta Tags & SEO - Same

Slowly it has been improving. I still have a few areas to work on, but those are not going to be very easy for me, has to do with the spiders.

Author and urls still need correcting and I think I am done.

Thank you for your help, it is greatly appreciated.

Edited: Jotto on 23rd May, 2015 - 10:20pm

Meta Tags & SEO - Same Computer Issues & Video Gaming

No problem. The big challenge is having notable sites link to your content. This is Google's way of deciding how important your site is for the searcher. In my opinion it discounts the fact that sites with better content or more specific content may not get linked to by a notable site. This has caused many researchers and myself included to no longer rely on Google for results.

I do find myself looking on Bing, Yahoo and others as well, but that is a whole other Topic. I am just pinpointing this because Google is not the only place you can get traffic from.

Should you ever need my paid services outside of this feel free to let me know but I'm always willing to freely help here as well.