Thursday, January 12, 2023
What is this meta tags?
Meta tags are HTML tags that provide information about a web page to search engines and website visitors. They are placed in the head section of a web page's HTML code. Some common meta tags include the "title" tag, which provides the title of the page that is displayed in a web browser's title bar or tab, and the "description" tag, which provides a summary of the page's content that is often used by search engines in their search results.
Additionally meta tags can also include 'keywords' which used to be important for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) but now not in use.
Meta tags SEO
Meta tags are an important aspect of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) because they provide information about a web page that search engines use to understand its content and determine its relevance to search queries. Some of the most important meta tags for SEO include the "title" tag and the "description" tag. The title tag is used to specify the title of a web page and is typically displayed as the title of the page in a search engine's search results. The description tag is used to provide a summary of the page's content and is often used as the description of the page in search results.
In addition to these tags, there's also "meta keywords" tag that used to be important for SEO, but now, it's no longer in use. This is because many websites use to stuff them with irrelevant keywords.
It's important to note that, while meta tags can help a website's SEO, they are just one of many factors that search engines use to rank web pages, and they are not a guarantee of a high search engine ranking. Quality content, high-quality backlinks, and user experience are also important factors that should be considered when working on SEO of a website.
Meta Keywords
The meta keywords tag is an HTML tag that is used to specify a list of keywords related to a web page. It is placed in the head section of a web page's HTML code and is intended to provide a list of keywords that can be used by search engines to understand the content of the page.
In the past, search engines used to give some weight to the keywords specified in the meta keywords tag when determining the relevance of a web page to a search query. However, due to abuse of the tag by website owners who would stuff it with irrelevant or spammy keywords, search engines now mostly ignore the content of this tag for ranking purposes.
Using the meta keywords tag for SEO is now considered to be ineffective and even harmful as it may lead to penalties from search engines. Instead, focus should be on creating high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience and optimizing on-page elements such as headlines, URLs, images, and internal links.
Meta Description SEO
The meta description tag is an HTML tag that is used to provide a summary of a web page's content. It is placed in the head section of a web page's HTML code and is intended to provide a brief and concise summary of the page's main content that will be displayed in the search engine's search results.
The meta description plays an important role in SEO because it can be used by search engines to determine the relevance of a web page to a search query and to generate the text that is displayed under the title of a page in the search results. A well-written and informative meta description can help to increase the click-through rate (CTR) of a web page by making it more attractive to users who are searching for the content that the page provides.
To optimize your meta description for SEO:
- Keep it within 155 characters or less, so that it doesn't get truncated in the SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
- Include keywords relevant to the content of the page
- Provide a clear, concise, and accurate summary of the page's content.
- Use a unique meta description for each page on your website.
It's worth noting that while meta descriptions play an important role in SEO, they are not a direct ranking factor for search engines. Instead, the meta description is used to provide context for users, and to entice them to click through to your site. However, as meta descriptions can improve click-through rate, having them optimized can benefit your ranking indirectly
Meta Data for SEO
Meta data refers to information that is included in the HTML code of a web page and provides additional information about the page to search engines and users. Meta data includes both meta tags, such as the "title" tag and the "description" tag, as well as other types of information, such as structured data.
In terms of SEO, meta data can help search engines to understand the content of a web page and to determine its relevance to search queries. Some important meta tags for SEO include:
- "Title" tag : it provides the title of the page that is displayed in a web browser's title bar or tab, and also as the title of the page in search engine's results.
- "Description" tag : it provides a summary of the page's content that is often used by search engines in their search results.
- "Canonical" tag : it helps to prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the preferred version of a page.
- "Robots" tag : it helps to control the behavior of search engines when they crawl a page.
- "Alt" tag : it is used to describe images and provide alternative text for them in case they are not loaded
In addition to meta tags, there are also other types of meta data that can be used to provide additional information about a web page to search engines, such as structured data. Structured data is a standardized format that can be used to mark up content on a web page and provide additional information about it to search engines. It can be used to provide information about a wide range of things, such as recipes, reviews, and events. Google, Bing, Yandex and many others support structured data in the form of schema.org
In summary, meta data play an important role in SEO by helping search engines to understand the content of a web page and to determine its relevance to search queries. It's important to use meta tags and structured data correctly and in an appropriate way, to improve search engines understanding of the website, which in turn can lead to better visibility in search results.
HTML Metatags
In HTML, meta tags are used to provide additional information about a web page that is not typically displayed on the page itself. Meta tags are placed in the head section of a web page's HTML code, and are typically used to provide information such as the page's title, description, and keywords. Some common meta tags include:
- "Title" tag : it provides the title of the page that is displayed in a web browser's title bar or tab, and also as the title of the page in search engine's results.
- "Description" tag : it provides a summary of the page's content that is often used by search engines in their search results.
- "Keywords" tag : it provides a list of keywords related to a web page, it used to be important for SEO, but now not in use.
- "Viewport" tag : it helps to control the layout of a web page on different devices, such as smartphones or tablets.
- "Charset" tag: it specifies the character encoding used on the web page.
- "Robots" tag : it helps to control the behavior of search engines when they crawl a page.
It's important to note that some meta tags are more important than others for SEO, and it's not necessary to include all of them in the head of every page. The most important meta tags for SEO include the "title" and "description" tags.
It's also worth mentioning that there are meta tags that are specific for social media platforms like "twitter:card" and "og:url" which are used to optimize the appearance of a link when shared on Twitter or Facebook.
Overall, using the appropriate meta tags in HTML can help to provide additional information about a web page to both users and search engines, which can lead to better visibility and engagement.
Wordpress Meta Description
In WordPress, the meta description of a web page is typically set using the Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack plugin, both are quite popular. These plugins allow you to easily add a meta description to a page or post by providing a designated field for it in the post or page editor.
If you are using Yoast SEO, you can add the meta description to a page or post by following these steps:
- Go to the post or page editor in WordPress
- Scroll down to the Yoast SEO section
- Enter the meta description in the field labeled "Meta Description"
- Update or publish your post or page
If you are using All in One SEO Pack:
- Go to the post or page editor in WordPress
- Scroll down to the All in One SEO Pack section
- Enter the meta description in the field labeled "Description"
- Update or publish your post or page
It's also worth noting that, Many themes have built-in support for custom meta description, which means you don't have to rely on a plugin. To find out if your theme supports it you can check the documentation of your theme or contact the developer.
It's important to remember that the meta description should be a brief and accurate summary of the content of the page, ideally under 155 characters. and should also contain the main focus keywords for the page.
Meta Keywords Example
The meta keywords tag is an HTML tag that is used to specify a list of keywords related to a web page. Here's an example of how the meta keywords tag would be used in the head section of a web page's HTML code:
<head><meta name="keywords" content="example, keywords, list">...</head>
In the example above, the meta keywords tag contains a list of keywords related to the web page: "example," "keywords," and "list."
Please note that, as mentioned earlier, the meta keywords tag is not widely used anymore and it's not considered to be an effective SEO technique by most search engines as it was often used to stuff irrelevant keywords, leading to decreased relevance in search results.
Instead of using this tag, you should focus on writing high-quality, relevant, and engaging content for your target audience, optimizing on-page elements such as headlines, URLs, images, and internal links. Use the focus keywords in these elements of the website, in a way that they make sense within the context of the content.