Magento SEO meta query

I'm relatively new to Magento, so bear with me!

I am working on a client's site and want to add specific meta tags for all the products.

So, I go to Catalogue > Manage Products > (then choose a product) > Meta Information.

I add the specific title and meta description tags.

Then, voila, nothing happens. When I check the actual product page, I'm still only
getting a Title that includes a "Category - Product Name" string as the title and the
description seems to be pulled from the default.

Am I doing this wrong, or is there a problem with my install?

Many thanks!

Why dont you try with magento seo pluggins (lots of free available on market). It will help you not only add meta tags as well you can add html site maps, display customer reviews, fast indexing, reduce bounce rate.

Rachel -

I wish it were that easy, but the site install is controlled by the client, so I'd have to convince their dev team to install the extension, and I'm not sure they would.
The larger question is why the way I'm trying to do it is not working...

Thanks!

Hi, you might have forgotten to disable default meta data. To check it visit System -> Configuration -> General -> Design -> HTML Head -> Default description and make sure the field is blank.

As for the extensions, you can try this one if your client approves it https://amasty.com/meta-tags-templates.html
The extension helps to generate relevant meta data according to your settings.

You can add extension in the magento store. You can also create attribute fields in the magento store