167 replies to this topic

[toyicebear]

Jack_mcs, on Mar 21 2006, 01:15 PM, said:

Yes, I've seen that change as well as a few others. The misconception is that doing so will optimize the page properly. Header Tags does more than just change the title and meta tags. Your code supports the point I have been making: You can do it right to get the best optimization or you can do it with the other changes, as you mention, and get some optimization. I guess it is a matter of preference.

Jack

Well compared to the header tags automatic fill tags function it does exacetly the same.....the other "optimizations" are basically h1 tags.... which i can easily add to the above too....

My point in this excercise was to point out that if you only use the fill tags function of the header tags is redundant to install such an contribution. (And as mentioned shops with already large inventory added will probably just use the automatic fill tags version anyway)

For shops with large imported and/or pre-populated products in the db , the cdynamic metas would be my prefered choice among the metioned meta contribs.......

And one last point , manually adding metas should only be done by people who knowes the principles of of meta tags optimization, since wrongly added metas can actually hurt your sites ranking.

[warrenerjm]

Jack_mcs, on Mar 21 2006, 01:22 PM, said:

I advise against such "fixes." Yes, Header Tags can be difficult to install and even cDynamic Meta tags is compared to the above change, but you get what you pay for. There are many other changes required to properly optimize a page. Header Tags uses many of those techniques. Will they make a difference in the end? I think so but it depends somewhat on your keywords and product line. But, my point through all of this, is if you are serious about getting a good index position with the SE's, then you should optimize the pages the best that you can. If we had identical sites and you made the above change to yours and I made the above change to mine but with a few more tweaks to the pages, my site would rank better. That should be the goal when optimizing.

Jack

Hi Jack

I know you contributed to the Header tag contribution, & I am sure this is the one I should choose. Any chance of explaining the whole process for us novices, in an easy to follow way?

I have only done contributions that involved the files & not database, sql,etc so the 16+ pages of instructions I have already downloaded are scaring me! I have gone into my hosts control panel & looked at the databases but it might aswell be in greek.

Thanks
Julie

This contribution should be done first, but I didn't know that then

[Jack_mcs]

toyicebear, on Mar 21 2006, 08:37 AM, said:

Well compared to the header tags automatic fill tags function it does exacetly the same.....the other "optimizations" are basically h1 tags.... which i can easily add to the above too....

Yes, you can reinvent the wheel if you want. I'm not sure why you would want to do that though.

Quote

My point in this excercise was to point out that if you only use the fill tags function of the header tags is redundant to install such an contribution. (And as mentioned shops with already large inventory added will probably just use the automatic fill tags version anyway)

Fill tags can be handled in a different way but to what purpose? One of the ideas of all of these contributions is to make life easier for us. Fill tags is one of the tools that does that. By adding seaprate code to do it, you take away some of that functionality. That is the way it worked three years ago. Why go backward?

Quote

For shops with large imported and/or pre-populated products in the db , the cdynamic metas would be my prefered choice among the metioned meta contribs.......

I still fail to see what the size of the database has to do with anything.

Quote

And one last point , manually adding metas should only be done by people who knowes the principles of of meta tags optimization, since wrongly added metas can actually hurt your sites ranking.

That's true. That's why Header Tags adds them for you but has the option to allow you to override the basic settings.

Jack

[Jack_mcs]

warrenerjm, on Mar 21 2006, 08:38 AM, said:

Hi Jack

I know you contributed to the Header tag contribution, & I am sure this is the one I should choose. Any chance of explaining the whole process for us novices, in an easy to follow way?

I have only done contributions that involved the files & not database, sql,etc so the 16+ pages of instructions I have already downloaded are scaring me! I have gone into my hosts control panel & looked at the databases but it might aswell be in greek.

Thanks
Julie

This contribution should be done first, but I didn't know that then

To be clear, I only made changes to an already existing contribution. Header Tags wasn't my idea.

For the database, you should see
this thread. But Header Tags comes with a file that bypasses all of that. Just upload the database_setup.php file to your root directory, then go to http://www.yoursite.com/database_setup.php and the database will be updated. Very easy.

After that, perform the Install_Catalog.txt instructions. There are only a few changes in it. When it says to add the title code to all of the pages, just add it to the index.php and product_info.php files. You can do others later if you want. Once that is done, you should see the title on your home page change to Home Page. If it does, you have successfully completed the installation so far. If you want to stop, you can then run the manual fill tags script and all of your categories/products will be set up. You home page text can be edited in english/header_tags.php.

But you should install the admin section since it makes changing things so much easier. This is where people get into trouble. Not because it is difficult, I think, but just because it is long. As long as you take your time, you will be OK.

Jack

[warrenerjm]

Jack_mcs, on Mar 21 2006, 02:16 PM, said:

This is where people get into trouble. Not because it is difficult, I think, but just because it is long. As long as you take your time, you will be OK.

Jack

Easy for you to say!

I'm looking at your "Dynamic sitemap V 1.5 too! If I get stuck, do you mind if I PM you?

Thanks
Julie

[toyicebear]

Quote

Yes, you can reinvent the wheel if you want. I'm not sure why you would want to do that though.

No..its not about reinventing the wheel..its about making it easy for newbees..... There are countless posts from people who have tried to install, the header tags but not suceeded.....

Quote

Fill tags can be handled in a different way but to what purpose? One of the ideas of all of these contributions is to make life easier for us. Fill tags is one of the tools that does that. By adding seaprate code to do it, you take away some of that functionality. That is the way it worked three years ago. Why go backward?

Easy and fast install , no need to rember to go and fill in tags upon importing new products/categories....

Quote

I still fail to see what the size of the database has to do with anything.

If the size is big , well most if not will use the fill tags functions..and then what is the point of installing an elaborate system which you do not actually use?

What does surprise me is that you have not mentioned on of the key strenghts of the Header Tags contrib, the abilety to add category description which is visible on the category/sub category pages......

And also it might be worth mentioning that Header Tags seems to have forgotten about manefacturer metas.....

Last but not leased the metas is getting more and more redundant , while content is getting more and more important....the point being its more important to foccus on your pages actual content than spending time agonizing over metas.

Its very important to remeber that installing a meta tags contrib and/or seo url contrib is not going to make your site traffic soar by itself....they are only part of a larger startegy to gain search engine ranking and traffic.

Edited by toyicebear, 21 March 2006, 14:25.

[toyicebear]

The most flexibel meta tags contribution for oscommerce is the Header Tags Controller contribution , but it is not for all.

- It requires some level of competence to install.
- It also requires competence in regards to meta tags optimization to make use of it fully.
- If you have a large inventory it will take you/your employes quite a lot of time to optimize all the products and categories fully.

But if you have/have access to all of the above it is a very good tool.

The best compromize meta tags contribution for oscommerce is the cdynamic meta tags.

It generates all the meta tags automatically, can be set to cache the result for less use of server resources, its also a very easy one to install.

If you want to have good and functional metas but do not want to spend time optimizing every single product and/or category this might be the one for you. (Also if you want good meta tags and do not know much about meta tags optimization , this one will create them automatically for you)


I did also whip up a small easy drop over met tags contribution, Basic Meta Tags

This one is mainly for those who have an unmodified oscommerce and do not want to do file edits themselves..... With Basic Meta Tags , you just upload and overwrite the existing files and you are finished.

This is the latest version:

Basic Meta Tags 1.1

This version differs from version 1.0 by extending the meta tags aswell as adding visible on page elements.

NEW:

- The product info page will also show the products manefacturer.
- The product meta keywords now include: product name, product model, manefacturer/brand
- The product meta description is now an extract of the products visible description.
- The category or manefacturer name will show instead of "What's new here" in the category/sub-category and manefacturer pages.

[Jack_mcs]

toyicebear, on Mar 21 2006, 09:23 AM, said:

No..its not about reinventing the wheel..its about making it easy for newbees..... There are countless posts from people who have tried to install, the header tags but not suceeded.....

I agree, but there is nothing to be done about this that I can see. There's always a cost to pay for extra features.

Quote

Easy and fast install , no need to rember to go and fill in tags upon importing new products/categories....
If the size is big , well most if not will use the fill tags functions..and then what is the point of installing an elaborate system which you do not actually use?

The next version, due out in a week or two, will automatically fill in the tags as the category or product is added.

Quote

What does surprise me is that you have not mentioned on of the key strenghts of the Header Tags contrib, the abilety to add category description which is visible on the category/sub category pages......

My intention wasn't to post a "mine is better than yours" reply. I was simply replying to a few points. cDynamic Meta Tags has its strengths and should be looked at when setting up a shop.

Quote

And also it might be worth mentioning that Header Tags seems to have forgotten about manefacturer metas.....

Already in the next version.

Quote

Last but not leased the metas is getting more and more redundant , while content is getting more and more important....the point being its more important to foccus on your pages actual content than spending time agonizing over metas.

Its very important to remeber that installing a meta tags contrib and/or seo url contrib is not going to make your site traffic soar by itself....they are only part of a larger startegy to gain search engine ranking and traffic.

I couldn't agree more and anyone reading my posts on the subject of SEO will find I mention that almost everytime. Header Tags, or cDynamic Tags, will make a big improvment as far as getting your products listed well. But that is only the first step.

Jack

[FWR Media]

I did this for myself, if it helps

Adds dynamic page titles and meta info to osCommerce based on the existing breadcrumb so no extra queries.

Replace <title></title> with ..

<?php include(DIR_WS_INCLUDES . 'meta_info.php'); ?>

create a file called meta_info.php and place in catalog>includes.

File contains the following: -

<?php
/*
  $Id: meta_info.php,v 1.280 2003/07/12 09:38:07 hpdl Exp $

  osCommerce, Open Source E-Commerce Solutions
  http://www.oscommerce.com

  Copyright (c) 2003 osCommerce

  Released under the GNU General Public License
*/
/**********************************************
Modifications by ...
Robert Fisher aka Thunderace
**********************************************/

// This file uses the breadcrumb class to create SEO friendly page titles
$title = '';
$meta_description = '';
$meta_keywords = '';
$count = count($breadcrumb->_trail);
for ($i=0; $i<($count); $i++)
{
  if ($breadcrumb->_trail[$i]['title'] != HEADER_TITLE_TOP && $breadcrumb->_trail[$i]['title'] != HEADER_TITLE_CATALOG)
  {
  $title .= $breadcrumb->_trail[$i]['title'] . ' | ';
  $meta_description .= $breadcrumb->_trail[$i]['title'] . ' | ';
  $meta_keywords .= $breadcrumb->_trail[$i]['title'] . ', ';
  if ($i == ($count-1))
  {
  //$shop_name is hardcoded if you wish to add your shop name to the end of <title> and meta info
  $shop_name = 'My Shop';
  $title .= $shop_name;
  $meta_description .= $shop_name;
  $meta_keywords .= $shop_name;
  }
  }
  }
  if ($title == '') {
	//below are hardcoded to show meta info when no breadcrumb exists
	$title = 'My standard shop title';
	$meta_description = 'My standard shop description';
	$meta_keywords = 'My standard shop keywords';
  }
  //Display <title> and meta info
  echo '<title>' . $title . '</title>' . "\n";
  echo '<meta name="description" content="' . $meta_description . '" />' . "\n";
  echo '<meta name="keywords" content="' . $meta_keywords . '" />' . "\n";
  ?>

[toyicebear]

thunderace, on Mar 25 2006, 09:13 PM, said:

I did this for myself, if it helps

Adds dynamic page titles and meta info to osCommerce based on the existing breadcrumb so no extra queries.

Replace <title></title> with ..

<?php include(DIR_WS_INCLUDES . 'meta_info.php'); ?>

create a file called meta_info.php and place in catalog>includes.

File contains the following: -

<?php
/*
  $Id: meta_info.php,v 1.280 2003/07/12 09:38:07 hpdl Exp $

  osCommerce, Open Source E-Commerce Solutions
  http://www.oscommerce.com

  Copyright (c) 2003 osCommerce

  Released under the GNU General Public License
*/
/**********************************************
Modifications by ...
Robert Fisher aka Thunderace
**********************************************/

// This file uses the breadcrumb class to create SEO friendly page titles
$title = '';
$meta_description = '';
$meta_keywords = '';
$count = count($breadcrumb->_trail);
for ($i=0; $i<($count); $i++)
{
  if ($breadcrumb->_trail[$i]['title'] != HEADER_TITLE_TOP && $breadcrumb->_trail[$i]['title'] != HEADER_TITLE_CATALOG)
  {
  $title .= $breadcrumb->_trail[$i]['title'] . ' | ';
  $meta_description .= $breadcrumb->_trail[$i]['title'] . ' | ';
  $meta_keywords .= $breadcrumb->_trail[$i]['title'] . ', ';
  if ($i == ($count-1))
  {
  //$shop_name is hardcoded if you wish to add your shop name to the end of <title> and meta info
  $shop_name = 'My Shop';
  $title .= $shop_name;
  $meta_description .= $shop_name;
  $meta_keywords .= $shop_name;
  }
  }
  }
  if ($title == '') {
	//below are hardcoded to show meta info when no breadcrumb exists
	$title = 'My standard shop title';
	$meta_description = 'My standard shop description';
	$meta_keywords = 'My standard shop keywords';
  }
  //Display <title> and meta info
  echo '<title>' . $title . '</title>' . "\n";
  echo '<meta name="description" content="' . $meta_description . '" />' . "\n";
  echo '<meta name="keywords" content="' . $meta_keywords . '" />' . "\n";
  ?>

A greate TIP...and it works on all osc pages, bothe the dynamic and the static ones.

[toyicebear]

Jack_mcs, on Mar 22 2006, 02:47 PM, said:

I agree, but there is nothing to be done about this that I can see. There's always a cost to pay for extra features.The next version, due out in a week or two, will automatically fill in the tags as the category or product is added.My intention wasn't to post a "mine is better than yours" reply. I was simply replying to a few points. cDynamic Meta Tags has its strengths and should be looked at when setting up a shop.Already in the next version. I couldn't agree more and anyone reading my posts on the subject of SEO will find I mention that almost everytime. Header Tags, or cDynamic Tags, will make a big improvment as far as getting your products listed well. But that is only the first step.

Jack

Give me a nudge when the next version is out and i will give it a test run...

[saman]

Hi,

I have made a big mistake...

i first began with installing it true the database_setup, and i made a mistake (Install_Catalog) by uploading the header.sql in phpmyadmin in importing file in database. now i am getting this error on this page:

http://coolpersia.com/coolshop/catalog/database_setup.php

Looks like Header Tags is already installed. Aborting...

how can i remove it and start all over again? i want to install it with database_setup.php

i really hope someone can help me out,

thanks in advance,

saman

[FWR Media]

Well the DB code that header tags needs is already installed in your DB.

Either use it and just upload the files or have a look at the install.sql and remove the tables it adds and start again.

[saman]

Thank you very much for the fast reply,

I am really not so familiar with this, i can't find anything where it says how to remove it or start again (sorry if i am being blind).

can't find install.sql either.

Would you please explain to me step by step what to do? (i am really not good at this)

I do appreciate your help, thanks

saman

[FWR Media]

install.sql was a generic comment, the mods that you install will often have a file called "something".sql or an sql command in the instructions which needs to be installed to your database.

Recheck the mods you have installed and apply any DB mods that they require (I'm assuming that you will check your DB first to see if they are there).

[saman]

I have searched evertything but i couldn't find a file which is called header.sql, but it's weird i am getting this : Looks like Header Tags is already installed. Aborting...

[FWR Media]

In the Header Tag Control package there is a folder called Database_Files the SQL files are in there.

[saman]

Thanks for the reply again.

i know that there is an folder called Database_Files the SQL .

i have done the next (don't know if i have done the right thing):

1. i went to phpmyadmin
2. after i logged in, i clicked on import (MySQL)
3. i browsed the file (header.sql) and uploaded it.

but before that i have uploaded database_setup.php to the right directory and everything went well. my mistake was that after that i also uploaded header.sql

after that when i went to http://coolpersia.com/coolshop/catalog/database_setup.php

and i saw this: Looks like Header Tags is already installed. Aborting...

and after that it all began...
i have searched but couldn't find the file to delete it and start all over.

now, is there any chance to continue like this (and follow the steps in the Install_Catalog) or should i begin over again?

[Jack_mcs]

Installing the database changes only needs to be done once. You are trying to do it twice. Move on to the next instruction ans you should be OK.

Jack

[dumb_question]

I have dynamic header tags controller installed. if I installed the manual header tags contribution http://www.oscommerce.com/community/contributions,207

would I have to disable dynamic header tags controller...in general which one is better? Ofcourse dynamic is easy to work with.

Also, does "seo metatags" mod offer any additional benefits?

Thank you