Search Engines and Meta Tags
Search engines regularly catalog page content and other relevant information into an index for easy retrieval when a user initiates a search. Meta tags show information about the content. You, the content owner, can make it easier for users to find what you have by using both of these methods to help define and describe the content of your pages.
Search Engine Indexing: In the picture below, you will notice the
"<!--startindex -->" tag below the head tag and a "<!--stopindex -->" tag below the META information. This is for the search engine's indexing feature.
The startindex and stopindex tags are used to indicate a section of the page that should be searched, such as the title, meta tags, or page content. At the end of the indexed section, the tag "<!--stopindex -->" tells the search engine to exclude content such as menu bars and footers that will be the same on many pages. This "universal" content should never be indexed.
Below: Correct use of startindex and stopindex tags ensures that only the relevant content of a page is indexed. All menu and title bar graphics that appear on multiple pages should be excluded. The <title> tag and META information should also be included in an indexed section.
Meta tags help search engines find and index your Web pages. Meta tags provide:
- a brief description of the content
- the name of the author or authoring department
- keyword search terms for indexing.
Northwestern's search engine generates search results by comparing search terms against a pre-made index of the content of every page in the www.northwestern.edu domain, except personal home pages on Pubweb. Using meta tags increases the likelihood that people searching for your information will find it. Please note that meta tags are optional, although strongly encouraged.
Technical Information
Northwestern University community members should use the Northwestern University Dublin Core Meta Tag Generator instead of using a program like Dreamweaver to generate meta tags.
Write a unique description for each page. The meta tag generator will produce HTML code based on the information you submit. Paste this code into your documents within the <head> tag. Below is an example of meta tag placement. Dreamweaver template users should note that the meta tags are pasted inside the "doctitle" section of the page, directly underneath the title. If you paste the meta information anywhere else in the document, Dreamweaver templates will erase it.
