The consensus in the search engine optimization community these days is that meta tags are dead, dead, dead. It is widely thought that most (if not all) search engines place little direct value in meta tags as a sole path to high rankings, and many webmasters and SEO practitioners often advocate not wasting time with meta tags as a part of a search engine optimization strategy.

In the immortal words of Susan Powter - “Stop the insanity!!”

Meta tags are not dead. In and of themselves, meta tags do not offer the bang for the buck they once did. But they are, and should continue to be, an integral part of every comprehensive search engine optimization strategy.

Here are 5 reasons why:

Reason #1: Standards, Standards, Standards

Of the few things that can be considered “standards” in today’s web, meta tags are one. The meta element is a ratified component of the HTML spec. It is not unique to Firefox, Netscape, Opera, Safari, Camino, or Internet Explorer. It exists and is recognized, irrespective of browser vendor, version, or platform.

Standards like the meta tag are important because they represent fair play to any engine that’s worth its weight. They don’t give the engines problems - they don’t cause trouble - they don’t stand up and say ‘Look at me!!’ (remember Look at me!!?)

Take the current battle over the 802.11N spec. How many different vendors have their own flavor of the N spec? Are any of these specs compatible with each other? Specifications - ratified specifications - are critical to search engine optimization because they reduce the likelihood that a custom element or tag can upset the natural (and critical) progression of a search engine spider through a site.

Reason #2: Meta tags describe what’s on a page

Metadata is, simply, data describing other data. If part of optimization is trying to help a search engine understand what’s on a web page or what a web site is about, why wouldn’t we want to do everything we could to aid in that process?

Meta tags are like ocean buoys. If you’re a captain of a large ocean vessel and you spot a buoy 1000 yards out, you instantly know there’s something important going on. Meta tags function in the same manner. They are there to provide a clear, concise description of what content is found on that page. If you didn’t know anything else about a page or a website, a quick glance at meta tags should tell you everything you need to know. Meta tags help search engines understand what the page or site is about, and provide clarity and support to page content.

Reason #3: Meta tags are integral to engaging potential customers

Customer engagement? Were we talking about SEO and increasing site traffic?

Increasing site traffic is great, but unless that traffic is qualified and engaged, it doesn’t mean squat.

If I’m interested in purchasing an item, I very well may be a potentially “qualified” customer. That is, I am exhibiting or may have exhibited all the necessary traits of someone who is likely to make a purchase or participate in some type of conversion event.

We don’t watch much traditional TV at our house, in part because we only have 1 functioning TV that’s placed in a very awkward spot in our home, but also because 1080 HDTV’s still aren’t affordable enough. There are plenty of other household’s that haven’t purchased HDTV’s yet for that same reason, and because of this we could be considered “qualified” potential customers because we’re still on analog TV.

But just because we’re qualified does not mean that we’re actually engaged in the buying process. We’re not researching brands - we’re not researching prices - we’re not researching warranties. We’re not doing any of this stuff because we have not yet made the decision to buy.

This is why meta tags are so important to customer engagement.

Google, in particular, uses meta tags as a component of their search results page. If you have a properly formed meta tag, Google will often display the meta description underneath the page title in its search engine results.

This is the opportunity that all marketers dream of!! A chance to qualify and engage a potential customer at the same time. If they’re searching for “blue widgets” and your meta description eloquently describes blue widgets, will they be more or less likely to click on your results listing than the listing having fragmented words and sentences broken apart by …?

Reason #4: Meta tag content forces communications clarity

Many times clients proclaim that they would like to be ranked #1 for hundreds of terms, many of which have absolutely nothing to do with their site, product, or service. When used as part of a search engine optimization strategy, meta tags - rather, the keywords and phrases used within meta tags - force clarity in what can otherwise be a very ambiguous and unorganized effort.

Based on the principle of data describing other data, meta tag data provides a framework for content creators and editors from which to work. It provides focus and clarity for communications and copy teams by clearly defining what specific content should be about. It also provides structure for the information architecture folks, and can even help the development teams construct search friendly code and URLs.

Reason #5: Meta tag content forces strategic optimization

Using meta tags as a part of your search optimization strategy forces you to think about optimization in both a tactical and strategic manner. For as much as SEO focuses on achieving high rankings and driving traffic, it also focuses on building long-term value in the eyes of a search engine.

Meta tags offer the kind of organizational structure within web content that is key to continually building lasting value. Good meta tags help clarify content structure and hierarchy. They can aid in link building efforts by focusing resources on the highest value opportunities. They can also reveal optimization excess or deficiencies across whole sites, content groups, or even single pages. Most of all, they set a precedence for how to deal with the maturation of your client’s web presence by clearly illustrating order and structure (long-term optimization strategies) in lieu of short-term gains (just get me more traffic!!!)

The Proof

Remember - early on we said that meta tags should be part of every comprehensive search engine optimization strategy. Meta tags are just like every other search engine optimization tactic in the SEO practitioner’s playbook. Achieving high rankings, driving qualified traffic, and engaging potential customers are not won by individual tactics alone. It’s the collective effort of all the SEO tools that will produce results.

Here’s a sample of the results we achieved for one of our clients. This is over a period of 3 months:

• 159% increase in top 10 rankings across (Google, Yahoo, MSN/Live, Ask)
• Increased weekly organic search traffic by 11%
• Increased total organic keyword reach by 23%
• Doubled the number of inbound leads

Ranking, reach, and traffic numbers have all increased. And sales? We can’t say how much, but we can say it’s significant, and know that the sales teams are having a hard time keeping up. Too much business - that’s a great problem to have.

Who says meta tags are dead?