Meta Tags Help Please

[Guest]

My apologies for this, as well as my apparent and remarkable awkwardness, but I've looked everywhere for the answer to: "How do you insert meta tags?" and I am not able to get any of them to work. A fellow posted some HTML code that he inserts on various pages. I tried that, and got parsing errors in Line 12. I tried the addon "Head Tag Controller," but after transfering the five or so files appropriately, I didn't know what to do next, i.e. I simply didn't understand the documentation (and still don't).

 

All I want to do is insert meta tags for search engines on three pages, none of which involve categories: About Us, A Legend and the Home (Index) page, as I would with an HTML site.

 

I know I'm going to get chastised for rehashing a question, I truly have done the research and just don't get it. So, with a mea culpa and apologia, would someone please walk me through this issue, starting with which index.php page to use, i.e. the one that includes text? and where an how to insert the HTML code.

 

Thanks for whatever help this may bring.

Hack Madrid

[Jack_mcs]

To insert a meta tag into an about us file, open the file catalog/aboutus.php (or whatever you have named it). Prior to the </head> but outside of any <?php ?> pair add this

<META NAME="description" CONTENT="This line describes my page.">

Save and upload the file - you are done. Do the same with the other files you want to change.

 

Be aware though that this little bit of code will do little, if anything at all, in helping you with the SE's. It is probably a waste of your time. You would be better off, IMO, installing HTC. After all, with your approach, none of your products will be indexed and those are the most important of all of your pages. If you can't figure out how to install a contribution, ask on the forums, specifically the thread dealing with that contribution. There are many here that will help you through it. The effort will be more than worth it in the long run.

 

Jack

[Guest]

To insert a meta tag into an about us file, open the file catalog/aboutus.php (or whatever you have named it). Prior to the </head> but outside of any <?php ?> pair add this

<META NAME="description" CONTENT="This line describes my page.">

Save and upload the file - you are done. Do the same with the other files you want to change.

 

Be aware though that this little bit of code will do little, if anything at all, in helping you with the SE's. It is probably a waste of your time. You would be better off, IMO, installing HTC. After all, with your approach, none of your products will be indexed and those are the most important of all of your pages. If you can't figure out how to install a contribution, ask on the forums, specifically the thread dealing with that contribution. There are many here that will help you through it. The effort will be more than worth it in the long run.

 

Jack

Thank you very much. I'm certain that your approach is the correct and far more effective course. I would clearly take the HTC path, if I knew how and will if I can find a step by step approach. For the record, I'm an old, jackleg writer by trade and just trying to help my girlfriend with her site. Until this point, everything has gone smoothly, from installation to customization and virtually every question I had I was able to resolve via this forum or the knowledge base. But that HTC installation as just thrown me.

 

Again thanks for your help.

Hack

[Jack_mcs]

You are welcome. Contributions can be quite intimidating when you first start out. If you decide to ask for help here, I'm sure it can be worked through. Unfortunately, you won't find a step by step procedure anywhere except for what comes with the contribution. That is the weakest part of OSC, IMO. Authors just don't seem to grasp the idea of how important good documentation is. But until you are ready to work through it, the method I posted will work. Good luck.

 

Jack

[bulldogcoffeehouse]

Hi there JACK_mcs,

Could you explain a little about what HTC is, I'm not familiar with that acronym.

 

Thanks and Happy 4th.

[Jack_mcs]

It's the Header Tags Controller contribution. It allows you to place meta tags, and more importantaly, titles, in all of the pages on your site, or any subset of them. This is a must if you want to get anywhere with the search engines's (SE's).

 

HTH,

Jack