Meta Tags Help

[danzie1]

Hello,

 

I found out that meta tags are things that help people get to your website? Is there a quick easy way to incorporate meta tags without stuffing up all the work on the website? I heard there are some contributions? which one would you all recommend? Obviously if you have alot of people visiting your site the meta tags you are using must be pretty good!!!

 

I am planning to have lots of key words to bring people to the main index page, then it would be cool if i could also have meta tags for each individual product on my site too, i think i read some of the contributions can do this.

 

Ok i need a step by step guide to getting started with the metatags + best (bug free) contribution you have all used and prospered from. I did search the site before posting this message, couldnt really find the answers i was after.

 

I have also purchased advanced site submitter to use once the meta tags are created, but im new to all this and its a little daunting.

 

Any help from you experts would be very appriciated.

 

Oh and i read that some search engines ignore meta tags anyway, but majority will use a bot? or something like that....whatever that all means....

[Wendy James]

i have used this one and i think it is a popular one

http://www.oscommerce.com/community/contributions,207

[danzie1]

can someone help?

[Jack_mcs]

Wendy has already given you the answer. There are no short-cuts when it comes to setting up a site for the search engines. At least, not if you expect to get a decent position. It involves quite a bit more than adding meta tags. You mention that you have a lot of keywords for the main page. That is a mistake. You should have a maximum of three keywords per page (I prefer just using two). You can get a high position in the search engine listings by following a number of standard rules, most of which have been mentioned on these forums. So you need to do a lot of research. It is not difficult but can be extremely time-consuming if done conrrectly.

 

Jack

[danzie1]

Wendy has already given you the answer. There are no short-cuts when it comes to setting up a site for the search engines. At least, not if you expect to get a decent position.  It involves quite a bit more than adding meta tags.  You mention that you have a lot of keywords for the main page. That is a mistake. You should have a maximum of three keywords per page (I prefer just using two).  You can get a high position in the search engine listings by following a number of standard rules, most of which have been mentioned on these forums.  So you need to do a lot of research. It is not difficult but can be extremely time-consuming if done conrrectly.

 

Jack

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Is This Contribution safe to use if i have my site ready? Will i loose any data? Basically i have my site working all uploaded ( This is my first site), i probly wasted time "making it look good". Now i need to work out how to actually get the people rolling in, and actually finding the webpage, i guess that most people find webpages by search engines, i have bought "advanced site submitter" has anyone tried this and found it worthwhile?

[Guest]

never heard of it where is its url?

 

What i can tell you is that simply sending it to "1500 search engines", as some cliam isnt enough.

 

I haved added metatags, google site map and seo urls to existing sites without problems.

 

 

Always follow the method of backup files and db before applying anything. I keep two copies of my "under development sites", one is the current live site, one is the updated version, at any time and can move between the two.

[danzie1]

never heard of it where is its url?

 

What i can tell you is that simply sending it to "1500 search engines", as some cliam isnt enough.

 

I haved added metatags, google site map and seo urls to existing sites without problems.

Always follow the method of backup files and db before applying anything. I keep two copies of my "under development sites", one is the current live site, one is the updated version, at any time and can move between the two.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Is there a quick way to back up all the files ive got before i got start tampering with all this new stuff, im using hostgator and i have 10000 MB space on there server. Or do i just download all my site files to my own computer - whats best?

[Guest]

Is there a quick way to back up all the files ive got before i got start tampering with all this new stuff, im using hostgator and i have 10000 MB space on there server. Or do i just download all my site files to my own computer - whats best?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Perosonally i keep local copies, mainly because it is easier for me, your host may allow you to keep a copy locally if you have enough space, and maybe simple, really for you to decide

[danzie1]

Perosonally i keep local copies, mainly because it is easier for me, your host may allow you to keep a copy locally if you have enough space, and maybe simple, really for you to decide

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I found a section in my Hostgator Control Panel that allows for Home Back up + MYSQL Back up, so im currently downloading to MY COMPUTER>MY Documents>

 

Now if i stuff up anything from now on, all i do is click Restore a Home Back up + Restore a MYSQL Database - Locate the files on my computer, click upload.....

 

Then everything will be back to before i stuffed it up?

[Wendy James]

Yup, but every time you change a file you will need to back it up. No need to backup the entire site every time.

 

And if something happens odds are it will be on one of the pages you are changing at the time so you should be able to fix the problem without having to upload all of your files again. Just the one(s) you were working on.

[danzie1]

Yup, but every time you change a file you will need to back it up. No need to backup the entire site every time.

 

And if something happens odds are it will be on one of the pages you are changing at the time so you should be able to fix the problem without having to upload all of your files again. Just the one(s) you were working on.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I just make copies of the code, in notepad, before i change, and then if it doesnt work out paste it back how it was before i made changes? Isnt that better idea?

 

Ive gone to the contributions page, to download the contribution you suggested, however i know anyone can come along and add files to the packages, are these people "rinon" a trustworthy person hes relatively unknown- he has done the latest additon he says "This is just a slight bug fix for the cip. There was a slight issue with a foreign character in the package". (Is there any way to know if these type of people are actually helping or causing problems - eg Virus')

[danzie1]

I have now made a Home Back-up of my Site. PLUS downloaded it, extracted it from winzip, checked the main files are there and backed up. Now onto the meta tags i was having a look at your site wendy james, and then checking the code behind it.

 

Bare with me, im looking at this, then looking at the code on my own webpage and the noticeable difference is That between <Title> and <Base href> You have two things i dont METAname keyword, which look something like:

 

<meta name="keywords" content =".........">

 

And Also

 

<meta name="description" content =".........>

 

 

 

<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">

 

<html dir="LTR" lang="en">

 

<head>

 

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">

 

<title>Home and Garden Gifts and Collectibles</title>

<meta name="keywords" content="gifts, collectibles, collectables, shopping, incence, oil, burners, incence holders, wax chips, wax, angels, animals, asian inspired, fantasy, flowers, golf, music boxes, musical carousels, boats, lighthouse, fishing, plaques, vases, planters, pots, plant stands, statues, baskets, boxes, containers, bath accessories, book ends, candles, candle holders, clocks, furnature, accessories, decor, lighting, pens, paper, stationary, novelty, picture frames, ginger jars, bird feeders, bird houses, mirrors, tables, wind chimes, water fountains, suncatchers, wall plaques, kitchen accessories">

<meta name="description" content="Home and Garden Gifts and Collectibles offers a wide variety of collectibles for your home or office as well as creative gift ideas at affordable prices.">

 

<base href="http://.....">

 

Can i simply add similar code on my index.php or does this contribution make things easier?

[danzie1]

Wendy James, which version of Meta Tags contribution did you use, which do you suggest, sounds like Rinons one still has problems - the latest one available, id be quiet happy to use a verison like you used.

[danzie1]

Hey downloaded the version before the contrib. controller (as im aware of it problems). Now im faced with the problems of being a newbie! Its all so confusing doing this manually. ive read some instructions, but really dont know where to start! Any help would be appriciated, thanks

 

:D

[danzie1]

OK, im all ready to go, what files do i copy across? and to where?

 

Thanks guys u are a great help!

[Jack_mcs]

What contribution are you trying to install. I know Header Tags has an instruction file. Did you try following it?

 

Jack

[danzie1]

Header Tags Controller v2.5.4 Complete

 

I have looked at a few of the text files in it, it seems daunting to me, although i have done a back-up, i dont want to do the wrong thing... If its quiet easy to do, could u please run me through the basic steps, i dont know! im a newbie to all this, ive spent a long time developing my site, and ive allready done all product descriptions - Hope this is just an add-on (and i dont need to do them again). Now i realise i need these tags.....

 

ok first file im looking at is files 'Install_ReadMe_First' (im lost) :'(

 

The Header Tags Controller can be installed in three steps

to make troubleshooting easier.

 

1 - Install the data base changes. If this is a new install,

use the header.sql file. For exisitng installations prior

to version V 2.3.8, use the Update_header_categories.sql file.

They are located in the Database_Files directory of this

archive.

 

There are two easy ways to install them. First, you can

use a program named phpmyadmin to upload them. It is

most likely available on your host. There is a lof of

information about it on the forums if you need it and

can be found by searching for phpmyadmin.

 

The second method is to use the database_setup.php file

in the same directory. This is easier to use for most

people. All you do is copy the file to your host. Place

it in the same directory that your index.php file is in.

Then, open a browser and go to your site and type in the

name of the file after it. For example, if the url of

your site is www.mysite.com, then type the following in

the browsers url string:

http://www.mysite.com/database_setup.php

Then press enter and it should install it for you.

 

2 - If your site still works after the above and the database

was uploaded successfully, then install the catalog

part of the contribution by following the steps in the

Install_Catalog file. Once this is done, you should see a new

title, Home, for your index page (it won't be the right title

since you need to edit the includes/languages/enlgish/header_tags.php

file).

 

Note that the majority of the above changes are the same for each file.

An AutoInstall script is included to make this process easier. It

only changes some of the files (the ones mentioned in the instructions)

so be sure to finish the rest of the installation should you decide

to use it.

 

3 - If your site still works after the above and the title

seems to be changing, then install the admin part of the

contribution by following the steps in the Install_Admin file.

 

4) - Copy the fill_tags.php file to your admin directory and

point your browser to it e.g.:

 

http://www.mystore.com/admin/fill_tags.php

 

This will autofill your title, meta desc and meta keywords

for all existing products and categories.

 

product meta_title with product_name

product meta_description with product_description

product meta_keyword with product_name

category meta_title with category_name

category meta_description with category_name

category meta_keywords with category_name

 

BEWARE - in ver. 2.4.3 fill_tags-php was made for catalog side wich is security hole!!!

DO NOT COPY fill_tags.php in catalog side, and I hope that your admin side is passw. protected!

 

Fill words written by Emmett

update by Jack_mcs

 

If you have any problems, ask on the forum in the support thread at

http://www.oscommerce.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=7&t=51815

 

Thanks

[danzie1]

So what should i do? Is the home backup i did reliable, if i stuff up?

 

Anyway, let me know what you guys did to install the header tags (im using Header Tags Controller v2.5.4 Complete) Yes i have read the instructions its really all guessing what to do for me though

 

I will even be willing to pay someone to help.

 

Danzie1

[Jack_mcs]

Here is the first step:

1 - Install the data base changes.

So, first, go to admin->tools and create a backup of your database. Then run phpmyadmin and upload the included sql file. Phpmyadmin is ran from your hosts control panel in most cases. So you will need to visit that to get to it.

 

Let me know when the above is completed and I'll explain step 2.

 

Jack

[danzie1]

Step 1 Completed

 

page reads

Header Tags Controller Setup

 

 

Database successfully updated!!!

[danzie1]

Now the next step Install catalog.....

 

It says there is a folder for clean shop or not. Well im have added products, but never any contributions to my knowledge. Using Clean shop, does it mean i can never easily add more contributions later.

 

PS ready for step 2

[Jack_mcs]

For most contributions, you can install them by just copying the files if you have not altered the files before. Once you install a contribution that way, you may not be able to install anther in the same way since that would overwrite the files you just replaced. But you can any install them by editing the files. So, in your case, it is better to just copy all of the included files for this installation. Note that the contribution does not contain all of the files in the root directory that need to be edited so you still need to do that part (most of Install_Catalog.txt). But the hardest part is editing the admin files so that copying the files should save you a lot of grief.

 

Jack

[danzie1]

OK, i have followed instructions and fully installed changes to Catalog + Admin, now im up to this, what does this mean.... do i need to do anything else

 

 

===================================================================

 

That's all ;-)

 

===================================================================

NOTES:

 

1 - The admin section should now have a link in the left column labeled

Header Tags. If you click on this, you should see your page information

displayed. If you do not, you may need to edit the admin/header_tags_controller.php

and admin/header_tags_english.php files. These both have paths to the shop

side of the site. The code begins as

$filenameInc = '../includes

If your index.php file is not in the same directory as your admin directory, then you

will probably need to edit all occurrences of these lines. Assuming your index.php

file is in the catalog directory, you will need to change the lines to begin as

$filenameInc = '../catalog/includes

 

2 - If you get a message about not being able to chmod a file, or something

similar, it is because the code is trying to change the permissions settings

on the catalog/includes/header_tags.php and catalog/includes/languages/english/header_tags.php

files and your host is not allowing it. If this is the case, then you can change

the permission yourself and the code will work after that.

 

3 - The HTTA, HTDA and HTKA are switched used to determin if the default text in

the english/header_tags.php file will be displayed. If they are unchecked (set to 0)

then only the text you have set for that page will be displayed. If you set them

(all of any), then the default text will be added to the page you have set for that

page. For example, if the default text says "Home - Oscommerce" and you have "My Home"

set for the title of your index page, then with HTTA set on, the title will appear as

 

My Home Home - Oscommerce

 

while if HTTA is set off, the title will be

 

My Home

[danzie1]

Im Ready for step 3! >

 

is Fill tags safe to use, and does it save alot of time if you have products description already done, what kinds of things need to be filled in before fill tags can do the rest? Eg. do i first need to fill in date available, manufacturer, meta tag information (products page title, Page Header description, or product keywords) , products model or URL??????

 

and also A security hole ??? how about on my version HeaderTags_V_2.5.4_1?

 

 

 

4) - Copy the fill_tags.php file to your admin directory and

point your browser to it e.g.:

 

http://www.mystore.com/admin/fill_tags.php

 

This will autofill your title, meta desc and meta keywords

for all existing products and categories.

 

product meta_title with product_name

product meta_description with product_description

product meta_keyword with product_name

category meta_title with category_name

category meta_description with category_name

category meta_keywords with category_name

 

BEWARE - in ver. 2.4.3 fill_tags-php was made for catalog side wich is security hole!!!

DO NOT COPY fill_tags.php in catalog side, and I hope that your admin side is passw. protected!

 

Fill words written by Emmett

update by Jack_mcs

 

If you have any problems, ask on the forum in the support thread at

http://www.oscommerce.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=7&t=51815

[Jack_mcs]

Fill tags just reads the product and category names and copies them to the header tags fields so no damage will result.

 

Jack