Meta tags refer to information that is inserted into the head area of a web page.
Search engines use these to ensure your sites are listed in their index. Meta tags are used by web developers to identify HTML specifications, keywords, descriptions, refresh parameters, to name a few. Except for the Meta title tag, the information on a Meta tag will not be viewed by people viewing your page in browsers.
Owners of web pages have some control over the way their pages are described by search engines by using Meta tags. They can even keep a page from being indexed.
Types of meta tags
Among the different types of Meta tags, the most important in determining search engine ranking is now the description attribute.
This attribute contains a description of the content of the website, which comes up during a search engine query. This description is helpful when a search engine can not use a site’s content to generate its own description. Other commonly used Meta tags are the language attribute, which tells a search engine the natural language of the website, and the robot attribute, which controls whether search engine spiders can index a site and follow the links within.
There are a number of other, less commonly used Meta tags as well, but those listed here are the most commonly used.
How to make meta tag effective
To make your title tag effective, make it interesting and eye-catching. When creating it, think of your audience first and the search engines second. Don’t make it too long; probably 90 characters would be enough. Here’s the format using “What are Meta Tags” as the title of a page: Importance of using a metal tag -By using meta elements effectively it’s possible to get good engine ranking. It enables the webmaster to control the way my website will appear during search results. The website with a proper description is more likely to attract visitors. Success lies in proving brief and to the point description of the site. -The meta keywords tag is also of the important determining factors in page ranking. It contains the list of keywords which the Webmaster considers important to each page. Effective use of keywords helps to get a proper ranking on web engines. The best way is to go through each web page carefully and then select ten keywords that best represent the contents of the site. Too many unnecessary keywords lead to incompatible web research results and using words may lead to incomplete message -Meta tags help to classify a website so that it’s visible during search results. These tags provide the search engines with key information about the website which helps the user to find the concerned site quickly. Without the tags, search engines, that go by the information entered by the user, will give inappropriate results without proper ranking of digital businesses. -They determine the headers which are sent before sending out the details of the website and also rules out the name and content of each header. There are a number of different types of Meta tags that can be used on a website. They can specify headers to be sent before actual site content and can dictate the name and content of each header. Meta tags can also be used to indicate the keywords relevant to a site or document or the state or area that the advertised business serves. These tags are also used in SEO, though they are typically not visible to site visitors. These tags give a great deal of information about the website in order to help search engines organize and classify the site.
The “keywords” Meta tag used to be one of the biggest factors in a page’s ranking, but this has become less popular after some site creators began using a large number of irrelevant keywords to drive traffic to spam or even virus-ridden websites.
In conclusion, meta-tags are not a magical solution to the very complex problem of online marketing. They must be regarded as one tool in an inventory of other tools and should be used responsibly. Properly implemented, they will help complete an effective marketing strategy and this will facilitate the tremendous growth of your digital business by optimising your website.
