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Jargon Buster: Meta
< The pitfalls of not finding a niche | Unsorted Posts | Benefits of organic growth >
You may have heard the word meta being used on technical blogs with little explanation as to what it means. I've heard some of the following terms around the web:- metadata
- metablogging
- meta tags / meta keywords
Metadata
Think of a document that you create on your computer. The text that you type is referred to as the document data. To be totally jargon-free, data simply means "information".Certain information may be stored in the document when you save it, such as your name (the document author), along with a title and description of the contents. This is referred to as metadata. It is supplementary information to the contents of the document itself.
Metablogging
This refers to any blog that focuses on the act of blogging. If you are a metablogger, it means you are writing about blogging itself. Blogging about blogging.Similarly, metadata is "data about data". In this context, meta means "about".
Meta tags / Meta keywords
One thing I've noticed in the last couple of years is that people talk about tags as if they are a new thing. They're not. They are essentially the same as keywords, which have been around for quite some time now.You can use keywords as a way of classifying a page. These can be single words or short phrases and are usually separated using commas. A bit like this: weather, blue sky, clouds. These words or phrases should be relevant to the content on the page. They are then used by search engines to index your content - organising it in such a way that other people can find it when searching.
Tags do the same thing, but instead of being reserved for search engines alone, they can be used to find other content using the same tags - simply click on a tag and you'll see other pages with that tag. You can also see a tag map or a tag cloud, which shows some or all of the tags used on a site in a veritable mess of links. The bigger the tag, the more times it's been used, so the more pages you'll find if you click on it.
Search engines need to know what your keywords are, so they look for some code that looks a bit like this:
<meta name="keywords" content="weekly round-up, link love">
You shouldn't have to add this yourself - your blogging or website system should do it for you. This code is called a meta tag, and the example shown above is a meta tag that includes your keywords. This is one case where it's probably best not to refer to keywords as tags, as the <meta> code is also referred to as a tag. Double meanings...!
- If there's a term you'd like me to define, just leave a comment!
- You can find more jargon definitions in the Web Jargon Buster.
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Comments on Jargon Buster: Meta
Hi ettarose, the meta tag should be between the head tag. Preferably close to the title tag and be one of the first few tags between the head tag (because a lot of tags can be stuffed within the head tag...).
If unsure, well, do a "view HTML source" on Ben's page.
thanks Vincent. :) ettarose, looking at the code on Blogger, maybe you do have to add the code yourself. I'm not sure why Blogger doesn't add the code automatically.
FINALLY, a technoblog I understand! BTW, I favorited you on EntreCard.
LuAnn, thanks for joining - glad you found my site useful. :) And thanks for the fave.
Nice bit of jargon-busting, Ben. Since I deal with metadata in my daily work, I've been using the term metablogging for ages without being aware of having read it somewhere else first - glad it's not just me though.
Aahh yes, so then it follows that we can change the About Page to MetaPage as in MetaBen :-)
On the real though, this is exactly why i am hooked your site Ben, thanks for clearing this one up.
Obakeng
lol Obakeng. If you can apply what you've learned, I think you understand!
If anyone has any suggestions for other bits of jargon you'd like me to "bust", let me know...
Okay Ben, where does the meta tag go? When I search for meta tags on my site, it says I don't have any. Well the last time I looked it did. I hate to say it but I am confused.