Search and metadata
For searches to be useful, Web pages must have good metadata.
Metadata is typically defined as "data about data." Metadata provides information about a Web document. It may include details on the subject matter of the document, the name of the person or group who created it, the date of creation, and keywords that can help a user locate that particular document among a number of similar documents.
Metadata and search engines
The <meta> element allows page authors to include metadata about a Web page. It is usually found within the <head> tags in a Web document. All metadata tags use the same basic format. Here are two common examples:
<meta name="keywords" content="web, style, guide" />
<meta name="description" content="Guidelines on the use of templates." />
There are other elements of Web pages that provide data for search engines. This includes the text within the <title> tags, text on the page, text alternatives for images, and links to and from other Web sites.
Most search engines use all of these data sources to index Web pages, but they do it in different ways and treat some forms of data with more importance. For example, some ignore keyword metadata elements because it is easy for page authors to deliberately include incorrect or misleading metadata in an attempt to attract visitors to a Web site.
Guidelines on use of specific metadata elements
Title
Pages should have an appropriate page title, and should include "University of Arkansas" at the end.
Description
If a description field is provided, most search engines will use this information to place the description beneath the page title in a list of search results. It is important to make sure that your description includes a concise and accurate summary of the contents of the page. A sentence or two is all that is needed. Search engines limit the number of characters that can be used in a description. Keep descriptions to a maximum of 200 characters to avoid having your description cut off.
<meta name="description" content="Information for students." />
Keywords
The keywords meta tag allows you to supplement the title and contents of a Web page with a list of index terms for a document. Some search engines may rank keywords higher than body text. Keywords should be included on top level and other important pages. However, adding the same keywords to every page is counterproductive. It is better to create unique keywords for each individual page.
When using keywords, make sure the terms you select accurately describe what users can find on the page.
<meta name="keywords" content="current students, portal, exams, fees" />
