"Using" competitors meta info? A no no?

I am curious about something, and if someone could give some feedback, I'd appreciate it. I am doing a site for a Medical Doctor who does penile surgical procedure (ouch). As you can imagine, the SEO process for this site will be an uphill climb. I am curious about using such meta information from competitors sites, such as keywords, description, and title. What are the implications of doing such a thing. Assume all terms are generic and none are copyrighted. What are the legal/ethical issues surrounding this? Please, understand that I like to do things "by the book". Thanks so much, this is such a great resource.

I think you know the answer yourself. Of course you should look AND even use the same terms. After all: those are probably the terms people would look for. But NEVER do a copy and paste. Make your own selection, add a couple of special terms. Use a synonyms generator if needed.

Also know that keywords have limited effect on SEO. Title does. But what will visitors think when they see the same title across different sites? Best is to make your titles even better than your competitors' of course

no no and no.

Make your own meta tags.... just because the number 1 site uses certain terms doesnt mean you are going to rank well. There are too many many factors in a search algorithm for this to be true.

Its pretty much pointless other than gathering new search terms you could target.

I always look at my competition's meta info when I setupa new site. It gives you ideas of which terms to target and such.

Visit the top 10 sites for the terms you like and compile a list of keywords, phrases. and ideas and make your own tags. Very simple and no bad feelings. right?

I always take a look but never copy them as they are.

I'd look at their content and where they are getting backlinks rather than META info which search engines continually dilute in their algorithm updates.

Meta keywords are pretty much dead at this point. The major engines all give them little or no weight. So I wouldn't worry too much about them.

Meta descriptions do not have much effect on your rank, but they are still important. Google and Yahoo will often use the meta description to describe your site when it appears in a search. So you would want your description to tell the reader why they should want to click on your result, instead of the others. Obviously, having exactly the same description as one of the other sites is not a good way to accomplish this. I would go with an honest, well written description of what the given page is all about.

For title tags, I would look at the competition for ideas, but then write your own.

I disagree forecefully about the meta keywords being dead.
Take any advice on this subject with caution and a pinch of salt.
You have to look at the serps and make up your own mind because of all the conflicting information.

Can you put in a good word for me and get me a discount?

There is a good article about this subject by SEO guru Danny Sullivan:
http://searchenginewatch.com/serepo...cle.php/2165061

Hi

It is acceptable to do so. But what you should do - to get the best effect is;
Do some keyword research - generic terms are not usualy the best for the client - there are often better niche terms that are more specific.
Your title tag should include the keyword that the page is optimised for (if not it should be the keyword) then your meta keywords should reflect this and some other related terms that are in the text.
For the description I usualy use the first couple of lines and make sure that it includes the keyword.

It is quite widely accepted that Goolge does not use the meta keyword and description tag - they are too open to abuse but some engines do still use them and it is considered good practice to do so.

My advice is do some keyword research before anything else - you will be surprised! There is no point optimising for an un researched term - even if you think it is right because if it is not then all your SEO from then on is wasted! Also the more generic terms are usualy far harder to rank well for so it makes sense to go for less competitive lesser searched but far more targetted specific terms!