If your idea of search engine optimisation is tweaking a few meta tags, than you're in for a disappointment. The notion that optimising meta tags alone can guarantee your web site top placement is a myth. The truth of the matter is that meta tags are becoming less and less important.

In fact, many search engines now ignore them completely because they invariably contain keywords that have nothing to do with the content that is actually on a page. In the past, some webmasters achieved a high ranking by repeating the same keywords over and over in the meta tags, but today these tactics just won't wash. Sites are actually penalized for this kind of spamming.

While meta tags may still be useful, they are no longer the be all and end all of search engine optimisation. It doesn't hurt to include them however. Keep in mind that in some search engines, the meta description shows up in the search results page. A brief, well-written meta description will give web surfers a good idea of what your page is about and may even encourage them to click on your link. In directories such as Yahoo, ODP and LookSmart, human editors sometimes use meta descriptions as a basis for the directory's description of your site.