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Required Metadata for non WebCMS Pages

Metadata should provide succinct, descriptive information of an HTML page or PDF document.  Metadata is used to describe the page it lives on, not an entire web area, site, or TSSMS account. Having metadata can influence and improve search results, as well as give you greater control over your content. Read more about Metadata.

This information is for pages created outside of Drupal WebCMS. See: Metadata for Basic Pages.

Required fields: 

• Title (“DC.title”)
• Description (“DC.description”)
• Keywords (“keywords”)
• Publisher (“DC.creator”)
• Channel (“DC.Subject.epachannel”)
• Content Type (“DC.type”)

The metadata tags:

• <meta name="DC.title" content="" />
• <meta name="DC.description" content="" />
  
• <meta name="keywords" content="" />
  
• <meta name="DC.creator" content="" />
  
• <meta name="DC.Subject.epachannel" content="" />
  
• <meta name="DC.type" content="" />

 

Title:

Metadata tag: “DC.title”

Do:

• Include your most important and/or critical search terms in the title.
• Make your title understandable without any other context. Include the Area Name, if needed (see below).
• Match DC.title to the left-most portion of the HTML title (<title> tag). Only include the Area Name if it provides needed context, such as "Basic Information | Asbestos." 

Do Not:

• Do not use acronyms unless you spell it out within the description or keyword fields.

You will fail the metadata error report...

if the field:

• Does not contain two or more space-separated words.
• Contains a backslash (\).
• Contains telltale extensions like .html, .wpd, .doc or txt.

Examples:

	Title	Why?
Good	Grant Application Forms | Brownfields	Provides context ("Brownfields") and critical search terms (“grant,” “forms”)
Bad	Grants	No context.

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Description:

Metadata tag: “DC.description”

Do:

• Write a short statement describing the content on your page, highlighting key concepts or issues.
  • "This page is..." is a poor description; "Water pollution is..." is much better.
• Include important search terms not already in your title.
• Check your first paragraph - you have probably already written a good description of your content, and can edit it further for brevity or to add in key search terms.

Do Not:

• Do not exactly copy the title into the description field.
• Do not use the same description for every page in a web area or TSSMS.

You will fail the metadata error report...

if the field:

• Does not contain two or more space-separated words.
• Contains a backslash (\).
• Contains telltale extensions like .html, .wpd, .doc or .txt.
• Is identical to the title.

Examples:

	Description	Why?
Good	As part of efforts to improve preparedness and the ability to respond to terrorist attacks, EPA has been called upon to play a strategic role in homeland security	Provides context beyond the page title, includes key terms ("preparedness", "terrorist").
Bad	EPA Homeland Security	Repeats page title.
Good	Learn about carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases, and how human activities add greenhouse gases to our atmosphere	Includes important search terms too long for the the title field.
Bad	This page is about greenhouse gas emissions.	Provides very little context, and almost no searchable terms.

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Keywords:

Metadata tag: “keywords”

Do:

• Pull keywords from the actual text of your content.
  • Look for terms in your headings, table of contents, anchor links, introductory paragraphs, etc..
  • Remember, your most important terms belong in the title and/or description.
• Be selective with keywords. In most cases, ten or less keywords per document are sufficient.
• Separate keywords with a comma.

Do not:

• Do not repeat terms from the title or description.
• Do not create keywords for every possible combination of terms, or for capitalization, plurals, etc.
• Do not use the same keywords for entire set of pages in a web area or TSSMS.
• Do not use general terms, such as “EPA” and “environment”.

You will fail the metadata error report...

if the field:

• Contains a backslash (\).
• Contains the word "keywords".
• Contains telltale extensions like .html, .wpd, .doc or .txt.
• Is identical to the title or description.

 

Examples:

	Keywords	Why?
Good	LUST, leaking, gas station	Critical terms from the actual content of the page.
Bad	underground, underground storage, underground storage tanks, Underground Storage Tanks, UST, USTS, usts, gas, gas station, environment, environmental	Redundant to both the title and description, and also to the entire EPA.gov site (“environment”).

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Publisher:

Metadata tag: “DC.creator”

Do:

• Only list the web-owner that publishes the document to the web (your office, branch, lab, etc.), not the original author, the document creator, or even the originating EPA office, branch, or lab.
• Follow this specific format:
• US EPA, AA/RA, Real Owner (Lab/Center/Office/Division/Branch)
• With the last and real owner spelled out.
• The regional office name should always be spelled out

Do not:

• Do not list the original author, document creator, publisher, or even the originating EPA office, branch or lab.

You will fail the metadata error report...

if the field:

• Contains a backslash (\).
• Contains the words "Creator" or "Author".
• Contains telltale extensions like .html, .wpd, .doc or .txt.

Formatting Examples:

	Format
Program Office	US EPA, Office of Air and Radiation
Lab	US EPA, ORD, National Exposure Research Laboratory
SubOffice	US EPA, OW, Office of Science and Technology
Division	US EPA, ORD, Ecosystem Research Division
Regional Office with Division	US EPA, Region 1, Superfund Division

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Channel:

Metadata tag:“DC.Subject.epachannel”

Do:

• Read the scope notes below to determine the channel that best fits your content.
• Find more information about Channels in the Metadata FAQs or view EPA Channels in the Web Taxonomy.
• Copy and paste the channel name exactly as it is below.
• Select at least one channel for every page. You can select multiple channels.
  • If your page has both scientific and regulatory content, apply both channels. If you have educational content, scientific content, and information about the Agency, apply three channels. Content that is specific to one channel should only be tagged for that channel.
  • If all four channels apply, you may want to re-think the content on your page.

Do Not:

• Do not change the format of channel names. Sometimes web editing software may replace ampersands with HTML character codes (&amp;), this is ok.
• Do not separate the terms in the channel names, to use just "Laws," or just "Technology".
• Do not apply "Learn the Issues" to every page unless that content is actually appropriate. Content that is specific to "Laws & Regulations" should not also be tagged "Learn the Issues."

EPA Channels:

Channel Name	Scope Notes
Laws & Regulations	Materials and content related to the legal and regulatory responsibilities and programs of the agency. Including, but not limited to, compliance and enforcement activities, guidance, regulatory development, permitting programs, etc.
Science & Technology	Materials, tools and content and related to the scientific, technical and research activities of the agency. Including, but not limited to, methods, models, research programs and plans, laboratories, software and databases, science products, etc.
Learn the Issues	Educational and consumer information as well as general or basic information related to all topics. Including, but not limited to, health and safety information, environmental emergency information and contacts, household management information (e.g. energy efficiency, recycling and waste reduction, chemical use and storage info, etc.), local information, etc.
About EPA	Information about the agency itself. Including, but not limited to, information about its leadership, its organization, its budget, its strategic plans, etc.

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Content Type:

Metadata tag: “DC.type”

Do:

• Read the scope notes below to to determine the content type best describing the majority of content on your page.
  • If your page is a factsheet that includes some contact information, the content type is "Overviews & Factsheets" not "Contact Information". If you have written guidance that includes a short introduction or overview of the issue, your content type is “Policies & Guidance.”
• Read more about Content Type in the Metadata FAQs.
• You can only choose one content type for each page.
• Copy taxonomy content type terms exactly from the table below, or from the web taxonomy.

Do Not:

• Do not change the format of content types (remove plurals, replace ampersands with "and", etc.). Sometimes web editing software may replace ampersands with HTML character codes (&amp;), that is ok if it happens.
• Do not separate terms (just "Lists," or just "Data").  

Content Types:

Content Type	Scope Note
Announcements & Schedules	News, news releases, calendars, comment schedules, meeting agendas, Requests for Proposals, job announcements, etc.
Collections & Lists	Lists of links, bibliographies, recommended resource lists, hubs, etc.
Contact Information	A list of the addresses, phone/FAX numbers, and affiliations of a specific individual, groups of people, companies, organizations, publications, etc. May include additional information such as professional titles or credentials.
Data & Tools	Models, methods, maps, data files, databases, glossaries, software, tutorials, etc.
Overviews & Factsheets	Factsheets, Frequent Questions pages, Basic Information pages, etc.
Policies & Guidance	Internal and external policies, guidance and guidelines related to agency operations and/or regulatory compliance & enforcement. Includes proposed rules, MOUs, Judicial Decisions, International Agreements, etc.
Reports & Assessments	In-depth information, toxicity assessments, budgets, strategic plans, conference proceedings, etc.
Speeches, Testimony & Transcripts	A written record of dictated or recorded speech. Includes correspondence.

 

 

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