Raw HTML Editing In Template

This is now available. I am crossing my fingers, and adding a Google Sitemap to my blog.

Here is the relevant portion of the template (details omitted, to prevent the old post / sidebar alignment problem.

<head>
<title><data:blog.pageTitle/></title>
<meta content='.......' name='description'/>
<meta content='.......' name='keywords'/>
<META content='.......' name='verify-v1'/>

So far, it's been accepted by the Google Sitemap wizard. Plus, I did a View - Page Source in Firefox, and the new meta records seem to parse properly.

You have added a Sitemap to http://bloggerstatusforrealbeta.blogspot.com/. Reports may take several hours to update. Thank you for your patience!

(Edit 8/30 21:45): Close, but no cigar. The Atom feed looks great, from Sage. But, looking at my Google Webmasters display, I see

Line: 1 Incorrect namespace
Your Sitemap or Sitemap index file doesn't properly declare the namespace. [?] Tag:
feed
Line: 1 URL not allowed
This url is not allowed for a Sitemap at this location. [?] Url:
[http://beta.blogger.com/feeds/......./posts/full/.......]
Line: 1 URL not allowed
This url is not allowed for a Sitemap at this location. [?] Url:
[http://beta.blogger.com/feeds/......./posts/full/.......]

More work tomorrow. :(

Meta Records

Anybody with serious ambition for his / her blog wants the blogs to be indexed by search engines. Making your blog (website) search engine friendly is a key issue in many forums.

One of the essential ingredients involved in that goal is the use of meta records. Whether for search engines in general, or for Google Sitemap in particular, meta records are essential. For the former, you'll add 2 meta name records - description and keywords; for the latter, you'll add 1 meta name record - verify-v1.

But meta records have to be installed in the non-visible portion of the template. Without raw template edit ability, this does not seem possible.

If anybody knows that I'm wrong, or has a workaround for this situation, please speak up.

(Edit 8/30 21:00): Raw template edit ability is now available. It does have its limitations, though.