Meta tags

What are meta tags
Why are meta tags needed
What types of meta tags are there
Title Tag
Description Tag
Keywords Tag

What are meta tags

Meta tags are important elements of the HTML code of web pages that include both technical and SEO tags, such as title, description, and keywords. These elements indirectly influence the promotion of a site and its position in search engines. To view meta tags, you can open any web page, right-click, and select the option "View Page Source." In the page code, meta tags are highlighted, and SEO tags like title and description are usually shown in green.

Some meta tags, especially title, have a direct impact on the site's ranking. If the title tag is improperly constructed, the site will not be able to achieve high positions, even if the content on the page is of high quality. Although search engines sometimes generate title automatically, such generation typically does not yield the desired results.

Why are meta tags needed

Meta tags are primarily designed for search engines, not for the users of the site. When someone searches for information in a search engine, it reads the meta tags, matches them with the content of the page, and selects resources based on keywords. This allows the search engine to effectively recognize the information on the page, improving search results for the user.

The absence of a meta tag or its insufficient detail can lead to the site being ranked low in the results or not appearing at all. Search engines favor more informative descriptions to meet user requests. While proper meta tags do not guarantee a spot in the top, they work in conjunction with other SEO factors, such as site loading speed and domain reputation.

What types of meta tags are there

Meta tags are divided into two main categories: technical and SEO tags. Technical meta tags inform search engines about the availability of the site (e.g., Robots), help optimize content display on mobile devices (e.g., Viewport), and can be used to redirect users to other sites (e.g., Refresh). Typically, programmers handle the configuration of these tags.

SEO tags, in turn, are designed for search engines to find and select relevant content. The main SEO tags include title, description, and keywords.

Title Tag

The title tag is the page title that should briefly and accurately reflect the content of the resource. This text is visible to users in search results and serves not only to inform search engines but also to attract users to click on the site. It is important that the title text contains meaningful keywords that closely match user queries, increasing the chances of high positions in the results.

Recommendations for crafting the title tag:

Gather the semantic core of your resource using tools like Yandex.Wordstat.
Use the keyword in the title without inflections.
Stay within 60 characters, as Google shows 70 characters, while Yandex shows 60.
Avoid filler words that do not add value and may negatively impact the weight of the keyword.

Description Tag

The description tag logically continues the title tag and provides users with more detailed information about the content of the page. It also appears in the snippet of search engines and can contain key phrases. However, unlike the title, the description tag is not mandatory, and search engines sometimes take arbitrary text from your page to fill it.

Recommendations for writing description:

Add specifics, such as exact prices or delivery times.
Use keywords to help users understand if your resource is suitable.
Stay within 200 characters to avoid text truncation.
Include calls to action to increase the likelihood of users visiting the site.

Keywords Tag