eMage by eMail - THE DEATH OF THE META TAG AND THE FUTURE OF SEARCH

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A lot has changed since I began doing search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing in 1995, and continues to change. The one fact that remains is that people search. It is still one of the most common ways to find what you are looking for online. And for most people, what goes on behind the scenes has little meaning to them as long as they find what they want. But for search engine marketers and online business owners, it is important to understand where these changes are headed. The biggest is shift is less reliance on meta tags and optimized programming and more reliance on optimized visible content, relevant inbound links and, of course, the money you have to spend.

Less Reliance on "Old" SEO Techniques
As the search engines crack down harder and harder on spam, they are relying more on factors that are difficult to manipulate like relevant link popularity and less on those that are easy to abuse like meta tags (which may soon go the way of the dodo bird). The bottom line: You need to make a site that surfers want to visit and to which webmasters want to link. This will guarantee you never get in the spam line of fire.

No More Free Rides
In the early days, the Internet was a place for the free exchange of ideas and information; now it is a place of business. The big websites that survived the dot bomb are those that found a sustainable revenue model. The big search players are no different. There remain ways to get your site listed for free. But if you are serious about doing business on the web then you need to accept that you will be paying for a search engine presence in one way or another through paid submissions, paid inclusion subscriptions and pay-per-click programs.

ROI Tracking and Metrics Analysis Key
As more money must be spent on various search engine paid programs, it becomes absolutely crucial that money is only being spent on initiatives that yield results. Systems must be put in place to ensure that search engine marketing initiatives and their results are tracked. It can be as simple as analyzing data in web log files or as complex as setting up sophisticated ROI tracking programs involving cookies and software solutions. Whatever you do, make sure your money is giving you the best return on investment possible.

No More Invisible Advertising
Paid listings of the sort described above were often invisible to the end user, combined with the "free" listings in the search engine databases. Some searchers and consumer watch dogs felt that this was misleading and made a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission. Recently, the FTC responded to these complaints by making strong recommendations to the major search engines that called for clearer disclosure and more conspicuous descriptions of paid search listings. Most of the engines appear to be implementing these recommendations in light of potential legal action. How this will impact the value of paid listings for the advertiser is unclear as of yet.

Changing Partnerships
In the past search engines provided results from one pure database. Now all the major search properties combine results from different sources, usually a human-edited directory combined with a database gathered by a search engine spider combined with some sort of paid listings. These search partnerships continue to evolve as deals are signed and others expire and it is important to keep on top of who is feeding who as you optimize your site.

Growing Sophistication
Dynamically generated sites, flash all of these are difficult for old search technology to accommodate, however the search engines are catching up to the creativity and sophistication of some of the best looking, easiest to use for both web site owners and end users.

Fewer Major Search Players
Seven years ago there were 25 search engines and directories that were considered major players. Now, with mergers, acquisitions and failed business models, there are only about 10 search properties that drive the majority of search traffic to any site. In order of use, they are:

Google (www.google.com)
Yahoo (www.yahoo.com)
MSN (search.msn.com)
AOL (search.aol.com)
Ask Jeeves (www.ask.com)
AltaVista (www.altavista.com)
Overture (www.overture.com)
Netscape (www.netscape.com)
Lycos (www.lycos.com)
LookSmart (www.looksmart.com)

The Internet search landscape continues to evolve. The only thing we can count on is that nothing is going to stay the same. But as long as the changes continue to enhance the quality of the search results and the customer service of the search engines then they are positive developments for searchers and search engine marketers alike.

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Did you know?

Signs the search engines are catching up to newer technologies: Google and Inktomi can handle dynamically generated URLs (filled with problematic characters like "?" and "cgi-bin") and FAST (which powers the Terra Lycos network) has just announced it can now index the text in flash.

Source: Search Engine Watch

The Major Search Players Weigh in on Meta Tag Use
The following table lists the major search players, the sources of their search results and how those sources use (or don't use) meta tags in determining relevancy. In this quick survey it appears that meta tags are only a factor about 10% of the time.

Engine/Directory	Sources of Results	Meta Tag Use
Google	Own database	None
	Open Directory	None – human edited directory
Yahoo	Own directory	None – human edited directory
	Overture	None – paid listings
	Google	None
MSN	Overture	None – paid listings
	LookSmart	None – human edited directory/ paid listings
	Inktomi	Doesn’t support the meta description tag, unclear if keyword tag is used to determine relevance
AOL	Google	None
	Open Directory	None – human edited directory
Ask Jeeves	Google	None
	Open Directory	None – human edited directory
	Teoma	Yes – seems to support the use of both the keyword and description meta tag
AltaVista	Own database	Has stopped using meta keyword tag for determining relevance; but uses meta description tag for listing and relevance
	Overture	None – paid listings
	Open Directory	None – human edited directory
	LookSmart	None – human edited directory/paid listings
Overture	Own database	None – paid listings
	Inktomi	Doesn’t support the meta description tag, unclear if keyword tag is used to determine relevance
Netscape	Google	None
	Open Directory	None – human edited directory
Lycos	Overture	None – paid listings
	Open Directory	None – human edited directory
	Alltheweb	No longer using the description tag in listing, pulled from body text instead; also doesn’t seem to use the keyword tag for determining relevance
	New paid listings – late 2002	None – paid listings
LookSmart	Own database	None – paid listings
	Inktomi	Doesn’t support the meta description tag, unclear if keyword tag is used to determine relevance
HotBot	DirectHit (expected to soon be phased out)	Unclear if meta tags are a factor
	Overture	None – paid listings
	Open Directory	None – human edited directory
	Inktomi	Doesn’t support the meta description tag, unclear if keyword tag is used to determine relevance
	New Lycos PPC program late 2002	None – paid listings
AlltheWeb	Own database	No longer using the description tag in listing, pulled from body text instead; also doesn’t seem to use the keyword tag for determining relevance
	Overture	None – paid listings
	Open Directory	None – human edited directory
	New Lycos PPC program late 2002	None – paid listings
Teoma	Own database	Yes – seems to support the use of both the keyword and description meta tag
	Google paid listings	None – paid listings

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eMage Site of the Month

Search Engine News & Headlines
Keep up to date with the latest news from Search Engine Watch.

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eMage Tip of the Month

Don't panic! The search engines are going to continue to change. Concentrate on providing solid visible content, building relevant inbound links and implementing ROI tracking for your search engine marketing budget. These are fundamental building blocks that provide value to your website visitors, online community and pocketbook no matter how search engine algorithms evolve.

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