To make a long story short, the meta keyword tag is all but dead. It is only officially supported by Inktomi, while Google, AllTheWeb and AltaVista now ignore it. However, if Inktomi is your major search engine target, here are a couple of optimization tips to help you out.

• Always ensure that whatever terms you place in your meta keyword tag also appear in the body of your copy. You do not want to be considered a spammer. The only exception that can be made here is for common misspellings of a word. They can add a small boost to your internet traffic as not everyone was a spelling bee champion in grade school.

• Watch out for repeats! You want to include your most important phrases, but when doing so it can be difficult not to repeat one word many times. There is no actual limit, but we recommend that no one word be repeated in the keyword meta tag more than 5 times.

The meta description tag is supported by almost all search engines, but AltaVista, AllTheWeb and Teoma make the most use of the tag. Here are two more optimization tips that should help you out:

• Make sure you accurately describe the content of your page while trying to entice visitors to click on your listing. Include 3-4 of your most important keyword phrases. Especially those used in your title tag and page copy.

• Try to have your most important keywords appear at the beginning of your description. This often brings better results, and will help avoid having any search engine cut off your keywords if they limit the length of your description.