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The #1 question we hear from business owners is:
"We've spent a packet on our web presence. Why are people not coming to see us?"

The answer is simple.
They have NO idea you even exist!

"What!!", you say. "We've got more bells and whistles on our site than a group of Morris dancers prancing at the county fair. What's more, the designers we hired were the most expensive we could find and, you betcha, we've submitted to 1001 search engines - twice!"

That's very nice, but here's your wake-up call. Without implementing a few simple, yet essential, lines of HTML code to support your super-duper web presence, you're waiting for a busload of phantom customers.

Relax. This article is not another rendition of what a META tag is, where to put them, and how they will make your cash register go berserk. Much has been written on the subject of META tags. Yet little has been written on WHY people don't act on what they read. It's insane not to make sure that your web presence is technically sound.

Failing that, you may as well take that web presence investment money, buy some soap bubbles, and blow them into the wind.

Let's assume there are two types of readers perusing this article:
Type A -
You are a business owner, who cannot understand why people are not visiting your web presence,
let alone not ordering!
Type B -
Website developer/consultant, either experienced or a wanna be.
You do, or do not know, all about META tags.

Perhaps you're a Type A? You have no idea what a META tag is. Would not recognize one, even if found floating in your cereal, and what's more, you don't care! You want orders, and you want them now.
Here's what to do....

• Go find your webmaster, design agency, or whoever was responsible for creating your web presence.
• Ask them for a physical printout of the META title, description and keyword tags in the HTML code.
• Don't take, "Sure they're there, you just can't see them!", as an answer. Ask them to prove it.
• Get a written sign-off that the META tags are actually there, and implemented, correctly.
• Double check them. You can do this with just a few clicks on the Web.

(I'll show you later, how to verify if your META tags are functioning correctly.)

Type B? - You've implemented a web presence for your customer/company. PERHAPS you have done your homework, know what META tags are, and implemented accordingly. You've got your check, and with a lick of the lips.... "Where's my next customer?"
Here's what to do...

• If you still think "META" is the name of a Swedish masseuse, quickly, run over to your web browser, and search for "meta tags". There are hundreds of good resources on the 'Net.
• With your new-found skills, make sure that META tags are high on your list of priorities for the next web presence you design.
• More importantly, if you omitted the tags on previous websites you where commissioned to do, pick up the phone and schedule a meeting with your client. ASAP.
• Explain to them that you need to rectify the code in their HTML. Don't be embarrassed to do this.
  It can only enhance your professional reputation if you acknowledge your mistakes AND rectify them.

Failing that, it will come back to haunt you.
Business owners will only remain mushrooms for so long.

Hope the above helps. Frankly, after many years on the 'Net, I did not think I would pen an article about something we now take for granted. Sadly, it seems that the majority of websites out there simply DO NOT have META tags where they should be. Most articles are sparked off by an occurrence or recent experience. I'll share with you what socked this reality to me.