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PHP

Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points
Posted by Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points

How do I use a variable in the keywords meta tag?

In the SEO course, it was suggested to use unique keywords on each page. I am 'including' the header on each page. How do I assign a variable to the content attribute? i.e.:

<meta name="keywords" content= " ' " . <?php echo $keywords ?> . " ' >" ;

How would I check to make sure the code works?

Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points
Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points

For some reason my code snippet didn't display. Let me try again. meta name="keywords" content = " ' ". $keywordsVariable . " '>"

I realize the code is missing syntax characters, but the form won't allow it to be displayed properly.

Colin Marshall
Colin Marshall
32,861 Points
Colin Marshall
Colin Marshall
32,861 Points

Hey Rob, I fixed your code for you. Please watch the video on the right "Tips for asking questions" to see how to post code on the forum

Colin Marshall
Colin Marshall
32,861 Points
Colin Marshall
Colin Marshall
32,861 Points

What reason(s) are you using the keywords meta tag? Are you aware that Google does not even look at this tag?

3 Answers

Andrew Shook
Andrew Shook
31,709 Points
Andrew Shook
Andrew Shook
31,709 Points

Rob, what does the $keywords variable hold? Is it just a string or is it an array of strings? Also, since this is just html you don't need to concatenate the php code block. Remove the periods and single quotes and just do this:

<meta name="keywords" content= "<?php echo $keywords; ?> " >

If $keywords in an array, then I would use the implode function to convert the array into a string.

<meta name="keywords" content= " <?php echo implode(", " , $keywords); ?> ">

Since you will be using this on most of your pages it might be good to stick this into a functions file that you can include on all of your pages.

<?php
    function the_keywords(){
        if(Isset($keywords)){
            echo implode(", " , $keywords);
        }else{
            echo "";
        }
    }
Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points
Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points

Thank you Colin for the tips on the right. I appreciate that. Thank you for pointing out that keywords are not used by Google. I meant to say meta description! My apologies. How do I use a variable for the description? Then test to make sure the code is correct?

Andrew Shook
Andrew Shook
31,709 Points
Andrew Shook
Andrew Shook
31,709 Points

what are you using to build this website, a CMS or framework?

Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points
Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points

I am using HTML, PHP, and Bootstrap. No CMS.

Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points
Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points

Each of my webpages are .php files, not html. Since that's the case, wouldn't I need to add the concatenated quotations to your first example?

Andrew Shook
Andrew Shook
31,709 Points
Andrew Shook
Andrew Shook
31,709 Points

the html isn't between and opening and closing php tag then no.

Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points
Rob McClara
Rob McClara
19,257 Points

Thank you Andrew. The variable is a simple string that contains the meta description for that individual page. I will assign the value to the variable before including the header.php file. Then, inside the header.php file, the meta description will reference the variable and provide a unique meta description for that page. Your answer was helpful. Thank you!