What are meta tags? How to use them for google seo

Meta Tags are html elements that provide information about webpages to search engines and users. These tags appear in a page’s

Section:

In this example, a meta description summarizes the page. Search engines like google often display meta descriptions in search results:

By adding this meta tag, you can influence how your page appears in search results and attract more users to click through to your site.

Google supports many meta tags. This table describes them:

Meta tag name	Description	Example
description	Provides a short description of the page. This text may appear as a snippet in search results.
Robots	Controls how search engines crawl and index your pages. Use “Noindex” and “Nofollow” to Prevent Indexing or Link Following. “Index” and “Follow” are default if unsciffed.
Googlebot	Works like the robots meta tag but applies specifically to google.
notranslate	Stops Google from automatically translating your page in search results.
nopagereadaloud	Instructs Google Not to Use Text-to-Speech (TTS) services to read the page aloud.
nositelinksearchbox	Prevents Google from Showing a Sitelinks Search Box in your Site’s Search Results.
Google-Site-Verification	Verifies website ownership for google search console. This tag is case-sensitive.
Content-type and charset	Specifies the content type and character set. Helps with rendering non-casii characters, such as accepted letters.
refresh	Redirects users to a new url after a set time. Not recommended for seo. A server-Side 301 redirect is better.
rating	Indicates that the page has explicit content.
Viewport	Adjusts how the page displays on mobile.

Two Important Notes Regarding Meta Tags:

Meta Keywords Tag: This meta tag used to help search engines negrested a webpage’s content by involuding a list of keywords. Google and other Major search engines no longer support the meta keywords tag due to misuse.

Hreflang: The hreflang attribute is not a meta tag but is often mistake for one. It goes in the Element in the

And Tells search engines about the language and geographical targeting of a webpage.

Meta tags are important because they can help you:

Boost click-Through Rates

Meta Tags for SEO (Like Meta Descriptions) Help Control how your webpages appear on Search Engine Results Pages (Serps).

A Relevant, Compelling Meta Description Can Encourage users to click your link and improve your Organic Click-Through Rate (CTR). Optimizing these tags with relevant keywords, unique seling points, and calls to action (CTAS) Can Attract More Qualified Traffic to Your Site and Lead to more conversions.

Provide instructions to search engines

The Meta Robots Tag Defines How Search Engines Crawl and Index Your Webpages, so you can use it to avoid indexing duplicate or thin content.

This process is more priority than related on the robots.txt file.

Improve UX and Accessibility

Meta Tags like Viewport and Content-Type (with Charset) Improve User Experience (UX) and Accessibility Across Devices by Adapting your Site for different screen for different screen

Enhance social media sharing

When users share your webpages on social media platforms, the title, description, and image are typically auto-populated in the social post:

You can control these elements with open graphs

Using engaging, descriptive open graph meta tags can make your content more appearance and clickable when shared on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (Formerly Twitter).

Although these tags do not affect Google’s search results, they can improve visibility and referral traffic from social media.

Let’s look at some of the most important seo meta tags in more detail and how you can optimize them.

Note: Technically, The Title Tag (often Called a “Meta Title”) is not a meta tag. However, many seos discus it with meta tags, so we include it here.

Meta description

A meta description summarizes a webpage’s content for both search engines and users.

It can appear under the page title on the serp, but google might rewrite the one you created in order to suit specific search queries:

The code for a meta description tag looks like this:

Meta descriptions do’t directly affected your rankings in google, but a well-wel-written meta description can encourage users to click on your link instead of scrolling pass.

Here are some tips to help you create effective meta descriptions:

• Keep it concise: AIM for Around 105 characters to avoid truncation
• Include your target keyword: Google often bolds the keyword when it matches the user’s Query. Add your primary keyword naturally and avoid keyword stuffing.
• Add a cta: Use Action-Opened Language, Such as “Learn more,” Get Started, “or” Shop Now “to Provide Clear Direction and Motivate Clicks.
• Write Unique Descriptions for Each Page: Writingunique descriptions helps search engines and users undress how your pages different.

Use semrush’s site audit tool to find missing or duplicate meta descriptions.

Enter your domain in the tool and click “Start Audit.,

Then, configure the tool.

When you’re ready, click “Start site audit,

When the audit is complete, go to the “Issues“Tab and search for” Meta description. ”

If you see the “# pages have duplicate meta descriptions“Error, click on the linked number for more details.

Next, click the Arrow in the “duplicates” column to see the list of urls that have duplicate meta descriptions.

Similarly, in the “Issues“Tab, you might also see the”# pages don’t have meta descriptions“Warning. Again, click on the linked number for more details.

You’ll see a list of urls with missing meta descriptions.

Go through the list of urls. And write unique meta descriptions for them.

Title tag

A Title Tag (Often Called A Meta Title) Tells Search Engines The title of a webpage. Search engines typically display it as a clickable headline in serps:

Here’s an example of what a title tag looks like in html:

Google uses the title tag to determine the page’s topic so it can evaluate and rank the page approve.

Follow these best practices for creating meta titles on your website:

• Use 50–60 characters
• Include target keywords without stuffing
• Match Search Intent (Informational, Navigational, or Transactional)
• Avoid Duplicate Titles
• Provide an accurate preview (avoid clickbait)

To scan your website for issues with your title tags, use the site audit tool. Go to the “Issues” Tab and Search for “Title.”

If there are errors and warnings for your title tags, click on the number of pages (“# pages“) To see the list of urls in question.

Meta Robots Tag

A Meta Robots Tag Directs Search Engines on Whether to Crawl and Index Your Webpage. Place it in the

Section of your html:

Add your instructions for search engines inside the “content” attribute. Common Values ​​Include:

• Follow: Allows Crawling of Links on the Page (Default If UnSPECIFIED)
• Nofollow: Prevents Crawling of Links on the Page
• Index: Allows search engines to index the page (default if unscifled)
• Noindex: Prevents the page from appearing in search results

Make sure you use these values ​​approves.

For example, if you have thank you pages that should only be Viewed by users who’ve Completed Actions Like Making A Purchase or Filling Out A Form, Use “Noindex” Parameters on PAGESE PAGES THEMES in search results.

You should also also Avoid Using Nofollow on Internal Links Unless there is a specific reason.

In site audit, search for “nofollow” issues to identify any unintended uses.

Review those links and remove “Nofollow” values ​​if you added them to the page’s meta meta robots tag by mistake.

Meta Viewport Tag

A Meta Viewport Tag Tells Browsers How to Scale Pages on Mobile and Other Devices.

Here’s what the tag typically looks like:

Like Other Meta Tags, The Meta Viewport Tag Goes Into The

Section of your webpage:

Other meta tags

Use site audit to identify errors in other meta tags.

For example, check for missing charset tags:

Or check for the presence of meta refresh tags:

Meta Tags Allow Search Engines and Users to Better Undrstand Your Content. Proper Usage Can Improve Click-Through Rates, User Experience, Social Sharing, and Indexing.

Use site audit to detect and fix meta tag issues. This process can support your overall seo efforts.