What is a meta tag and why is it so important for SEO? What types of meta title tags exist and how to analyze them?
The team of PeakyAds agency is ready to explain the basics and give you the answers to these burning questions in the article, stay tuned for the fruitful info below, we’ll give you all the essentials from meta tag definition to the actual role of meta tag in SEO.
Definition of meta tags: What are meta tags?
To put it simple, a meta tag is a small text summarizing a webpage. While they will not appear directly on the page itself, they could be found in the source code of the webpage. These are short descriptions that help the search engines understand what your webpage is about.
Example of a meta tag in a search engine
The big difference between visible tags, let’s say in a blog post, and invisible meta tags, is where they are found. Meta tags are located in the HTML, usually situated in the «head» area of the page, so are only viewable by search engines and users who know where to look for the source code. The word «meta» stands for «metadata,» so a meta tag literally provides information about the information on your page.
Types of meta tags
There are basically six types of meta description tags, we’ll have a look at all of them and give basic explanation necessary for your understanding of the concept.
Meta title
What is a title tag? A title tag, also known as a meta title tag, is a necessary content element in the header section of an HTML document. Its purpose is to define each title of a web page of your website. These titles are accessed by search engines such as Google to represent the result of a webpage on its SERPs. Many people refer to it incorrectly as a meta tag, but that is not right, as it is actually a separate HTML element.
Meta title example
Meta description
A meta description is an HTML element that provides a brief summary of a webpage. This summary might appear as a snippet in the search results below the URL and title when your page appears in Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).
Google automatically generates snippets for your pages from the search query, the content on the page, and the meta description. It picks the snippet that satisfies the intent behind the user’s search. Meta tag description length is about 1-2 short sentences, no longer.
It means, therefore, that your meta descriptions need to be unique, descriptive, and relevant to what is on the page.
Meta description example
Alternative text (Alt) tag
Alt text is a description of an image on a web page. It has a few purposes: it helps visually impaired users understand what the content of the image is, assists search engine crawlers in understanding what the image is, and it displays when the image can’t load.
Usually, alt text is added through the use of the alt attribute within an image’s HTML code; which is probably why it is often referred to as the «alt attribute» or «alt tag.»
For most content management systems, like WordPress, an alt text field is already provided, and there will be no need to go directly into the HTML itself to add it.
Robots meta tag
The meta robots tag is an HTML element located in the head of a web page that provides instructions to web crawlers. Like the robots.txt file, it tells the search engine bots whether they are allowed to index the content of the page or not.
To find the meta robots tag on a webpage, right-click on the page, click «View Source,» and then do a search for «robots.»
Social Media Meta Tags (Open Graph and Twitter Cards)
Open Graph tags are a type of meta tag that social networks use to control how your content will show up when shared. If you ever noticed how, when you share a link on Facebook or LinkedIn, it auto-generates an image, title, and description, that’s the magic of Open Graph in action.
Responsive Design Meta Tag
Responsive design meta tag, is also known as the viewport meta tag. Basically, it is a piece of HTML code that instructs web browsers on how to manage the dimensions and scaling of the viewport. It plays a crucial role in responsive web design, ensuring that your content is easily accessible and appealing.
The viewport refers to the portion of a webpage that is visible to the user, and its size can differ based on the device being used or when the browser window is adjusted.
For instance, the standard viewport size on a tablet is smaller than that of a desktop, while a smartphone typically has an even smaller viewport.
Meta tags that should be ignored: Google’s opinion
There are several main points that Google can ignore in your meta tags, so don’t make the mistake of using them incorrectly!
Use of symbols
Title tags that include certain symbols, such as a pipe (|), are more likely to be rewritten by Google. In most cases, when there is a pipe separating the title from the brand name, for example («Title Tag | Brand Name»), Google either rewrites those title tags or replaces the pipe with a dash.
Search intent
One of the leading causes Google ignores title tags relates to search intent. When Google determines that the intent behind the search differs from what is presented within the title tag, Google more often adjusts the title to better align with what users are actually searching for in the first place.
Clarity
Google also might rewrite title tags for better clarity. Based on our testing, the attempt to optimize title tags purely for search engines, and not for potential readers, can create readability problems, especially if a variety of keywords have been awkwardly phrased into a single tag.
Duplication issues
When Google finds the same title tags on multiple pages of a website, it tends to disregard and rewrite them. Duplicate title tags can be caused by a number of things, such as dynamic URLs, duplicated content, or just plain errors.
Character length
If a title tag is longer than about 60 characters, Google may also decide not to use it. Depending on how long the title tag is, Google may shorten or rewrite it, based on what it perceives as its preferred display standards.
Are meta tags important for SEO in 2024?
Meta tags provide an essential method for a website to communicate with search engine spiders, which are tasked with the job of indexing the content of web pages. These help the search engine understand if the page has to be indexed or not, and more information on what the content is about.
Our CEO, Vasilii Gamov, explains ”Meta tags are really vital to a successful SEO strategy, basically there are two main reasons why they are so important in the first place. Firstly, well-written and optimally set up meta tags will enrich the understanding of the search engine bot for every single page. Eventually, it leads to better chances of achieving higher positioning in SERPs.”
He says that the second reason is that the meta tags can provide high-quality information for the users, which will inspire more clicks and increase CTR in the search result; it also contributes to a good user experience on the site and his desire to stay longer as well as retention.
How to check meta tags on a website
Meta title tags and meta description tags are not visible on the website itself, which often makes finding and editing these tags a little tricky.
Depending on your level of comfort with technology, there are two common ways to take a look at the meta tags of a website.
2 ways to find meta tags of a website
1. View the HTML source code
If you’re not used to using developer tools, then accessing the HTML source code of a website is pretty straightforward from your browser.
Just right-click on the page and select «View Page Source» (in Chrome) or «Inspect Element» (in Firefox). This will open up the HTML for the page, in which you can search for the meta title tag, meta description tag, and meta robots tag.
You can use your browser’s «Find» function (usually Ctrl+F or Command+F) to search for particular meta tags.
Focus on the <head> section of the code, as this is where meta tags usually are.
You should find tags like <title>, <meta name=»description»>, and <meta name=»robots»>.
2. Use meta tag checker tools
If you want a quicker approach or need to analyze many web pages at the same time, there are many free meta tag checker online tools available. These tools provide the option to enter a website’s URL and instantly display all the meta tags used on that webpage.
A few well-known meta tag checker tools include Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Meta Tags, and RankMath Meta Tag Analyzer.
These tools will allow for quick and easy review of meta keyword tags throughout an entire site, without having to manually inspect the source code in each individual page.
Conclusion
Now you know not only why meta tags are so crucial for SEO, but also understand all of their varieties, most common mistakes made and how they can be checked via two most common ways.
Don’t hesitate to reach the peak of your potential with PeakyAds and maximize your marketing efforts with us!
