Full List of Meta Tags, Why They Matter for SEO & How to Write Them

Trending 9 months ago

Meta tags tin beryllium utilized to summation the visibility of a website connected hunt engines, truthful they're undeniably important for SEO.

On the different hand, they tin negatively impact your website's SEO ranking if written improperly.

Let's observe what meta tags are, wherefore they substance for SEO, and however to usage them correctly to reap the benefits.

 SEO Starter Pack [Free Kit]

What are meta tags?

Meta-tags are snippets of HTML codification susceptible of being crawled by hunt motor robots specified arsenic Google.

They are influential successful determining the visibility of a web leafage connected the SERPs. Meta tags are added to the <head> conception of pages and tin lone beryllium seen successful the HTML code:

an illustration of meta tags successful code

Why bash meta tags substance to SEO?

Meta tags are 1 of the main channels that a website has to pass with hunt motor robots — those liable for crawling the contented of the pages to beryllium indexed. Meta tags are utilized to bespeak to hunt engines whether a leafage should beryllium indexed oregon not, and adds further accusation astir its content.

This turns meta tags into halfway aspects of an SEO strategy for 2 main reasons. With a bully penning and configuration of meta tags, we tin assistance robots to person a amended knowing of the contented of each leafage of a website, truthful that we are much apt to fertile higher successful the SERPs.

Additionally, meta tags tin connection further and prime accusation to the users successful bid to execute much clicks and a higher CTR successful the searches, arsenic good arsenic to connection them a amended acquisition wrong the website.

Examples of Meta Tags

Meta tags are an indispensable portion of a palmy SEO strategy, that's wherefore it is important to constitute them successful a unsocial way, keeping Google successful caput successful bid to fertile higher, but besides reasoning astir the user. Let's spot immoderate examples of however you should and shouldn't constitute meta tags.

Examples of Original Meta Title and Meta-description Tags

With meta rubric and meta-description tags we bespeak some robots and users the main taxable of the leafage and what it is astir connected the SERPs.

They should beryllium written successful a unique and original mode truthful that they picture the contented and pull the attraction of visitors. This mode we tin negociate to look adjacent supra ample websites oregon directories.

example of meta descriptions connected the SERPs page

On the different hand, if we bash not optimize the rubric tags with the main keywords and topics of the page, nor successful an charismatic way, it volition beryllium much hard to look successful the archetypal positions of the SERPs.

And not lone that: avoiding keyword stuffing is besides recommended, which means that we shouldn't repetition a connection excessively overmuch due to the fact that different it looks unnatural.

an illustration of keyword stuffing successful meta descriptions

Examples of Meta-tags that Can Damage Our Whole Digital Strategy

A atrocious setup of a meta tag, either by mistake oregon deficiency of knowledge, tin considerably harm the full visibility of the website.

In this case, we are talking astir the robots meta-tag with content="noindex" done which we bespeak to hunt engines that we bash not privation a leafage to beryllium indexed — truthful disposable — successful the SERPs. With this illustration of robots meta tags, it's hard to get integrated clicks connected a web leafage from Google since it volition not beryllium listed.

<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow"/>

an illustration of a noindex meta tag

On the different hand, with content="index" we bash archer the robots that we privation to beryllium indexed to look successful the SERPS results:

<meta name="robots" content="follow, index, max-snippet:-1, max-video-preview:-1, max-image-preview:large"/>

For this reason, it is precise important to cognize however to debar these examples of meta tags that tin considerably alteration the visibility of the website connected hunt engines.

How to Write Meta Tags

If you are wondering however to constitute meta tags to person a amended show it is important that you ever constitute contented reasoning astir your users. Then, if you person designed a good implemented SEO strategy, it volition assistance you fertile your pages automatically.

That's why, erstwhile you constitute meta tags you should retrieve to see the page's taxable oregon its topic. If it is imaginable with your main keyword oregon synonyms, specially successful the lawsuit of rubric and meta-descriptions tags.

When penning them it is important to travel the pursuing tips to travel Google's guidelines to effort to fertile better.

Title Tags

By utilizing the rubric tag, we bespeak the rubric of the leafage contented to some Google and the users connected the hunt engines. This tag should not beryllium confused with the heading 1, the main rubric of the text. The rubric meta tag is lone disposable to users connected the hunt results, but not wrong the page.

Best practices to constitute rubric tags:

  • Summarize the main taxable of the leafage with the main keyword oregon terms.
  • Write unique, archetypal and charismatic titles to pull the attraction of users and summation the CTR of the leafage successful the SERPs.
  • Be close and descriptive based connected the contented of the page.
  • Do not transcend oregon repetition keywords.
  • Write not much than 60 characters astir (maximum of 580 pixels).

How to Write Title Tags

In Wordpress oregon akin CMS tools, you tin instal SEO plugins specified arsenic All successful One SEO, Rank Math oregon Yoast SEO that volition assistance you to edit and preview your rubric tags.

WordPress rubric tag tool

Or you tin besides paste the pursuing codification into the <head> of your webpage:

<title>What's a Website Title (Title Tag)& Why Does It Matter for SEO?</title>

a HubSpot rubric tag illustration connected the SERPs

In immoderate CMS tools your rubric tag volition automatically lucifer the rubric of your leafage oregon blog. For example, successful HubSpot's escaped CMS your rubric volition look arsenic some your rubric tag and H1 arsenic well.

How to adhd your meta rubric successful HubSpot CMS

At times, you whitethorn privation your rubric and rubric tag to beryllium somewhat different. For example, you whitethorn privation your rubric tag to beryllium shorter, truthful that it's not truncated successful hunt results.

In this case, you tin adhd a abstracted rubric tag by pasting codification into the precocious conception of your leafage settings.

How to marque your rubric tag antithetic from your rubric successful HubSpot CMS

Meta-description Tags

Meta-description tags connection the enactment to adhd a little statement of the page, which volition beryllium disposable connected the hunt results.

Although Google does not ever show the contented that the creator has proposed, sometimes it tin beryllium generated automatically done the contented of the leafage if they worth that those generated by the idiosyncratic are not of capable "quality" oregon are not related to the user's query.

Best practices to constitute meta-description tags:

  • Write the meta-descriptions successful a personalized mode summarizing the contented of the page.
  • Include the keyword astatine the opening of the condemnation successful a earthy mode and without repeating it abundantly.
  • Make them charismatic and original.
  • Keep it betwixt 140 and 160 characters astir (maximum 920 pixels).

How to Write Meta-description Tags

You tin besides usage SEO plugins that volition assistance you to edit and preview this section:

an seo plugin to assistance you make meta descriptions

Or you tin besides paste the pursuing codification into the <head> of your page:

<meta name="description" content="A meta statement is fundamentally what helps the searcher determine whether oregon not to click the nexus to an nonfiction oregon webpage. A meta statement helps person oregon transportation readers to take your site. "/>

a HubSpot illustration of meta statement connected the SERPs

Many CMS tools volition person a elemental substance tract wherever you tin participate your meta description. The CMS volition adhd this substance to your <head> conception for you. Here's what that looks similar successful the HubSpot CMS.

meta-description-in-hubspot-cms

Meta-robots

The robots meta-tag is 1 of the cardinal meta-tags successful an SEO strategy. This tag specifically tells a hunt motor whether a leafage should beryllium indexed oregon followed, oregon not.

  • In general, the default values are index, follow and it is not indispensable to specify them successful astir cases. With this we bespeak to the robots that we privation the leafage to beryllium indexed connected the SERPs and that it tin beryllium followed.
  • On the contrary, if we bespeak the values noindex, nofollow, we are telling Google that we bash not privation those links to beryllium followed nor to look connected the hunt engines.

Best Practices to Write Meta Robots Tags

  • Don't confuse noindex tags with robots.txt. Through robots.txt files we bespeak to a hunt motor if we privation to crawl immoderate pages oregon not, portion done robots tag we pass if a website should beryllium indexed oregon not. That's wherefore it is important not to artifact noindex pages connected robots.txt files, arsenic robots won't beryllium capable to work them

How to Write Meta Robots Tags

You tin edit the robots tag with Rank Math oregon Yoast SEO:

the dashboard connected Yoast to edit the robot tag

Or you tin besides paste the pursuing codification into the <head> of your leafage successful lawsuit you privation your leafage to beryllium indexed and followed:

<meta name="robots" content="follow, index, max-snippet:-1, max-video-preview:-1, max-image-preview:large"/>

To bash this successful the HubSpot CMS, you'd navigate to the settings tab of your blog oregon landing page. Under 'Advanced Options' simply adhd your codification to the conception titled 'Additional Code Snippets.'

How to adhd meta robots tag successful HubSpot CMS

Meta Viewport Tag

The meta viewport tag is utilized to power the mode we archer the hunt engines however to render and show a leafage connected antithetic devices (mobile, tablet and desktop).

Best practices to Write Meta Robots Tags

  • Use a meta viewport tag connected your full website to accommodate the contented for the mobile version.

How to edit viewport tag?

If you bash cognize what you are truly doing, you tin edit your viewport tag connected the <head> of your document. If not, usage the enactment recommended by default:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html lang="en">

<head> …

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> …

</head> …

….

Full database of Meta Tags

But determination are inactive galore much meta-tags. We connection you a implicit database of cardinal meta-tags for your SEO strategy:

  • Title Tags, to sanction your leafage connected hunt engines
  • Meta Description Tags, to picture your leafage connected hunt engines
  • Robots Meta Tags, to scale oregon not scale a page
  • Nofollow, sponsored and user-generated contented meta tags, for outbound links.
  • Twitter cards meta tags advertisement Open Graph meta tags, for your contented shared connected societal media
  • Viewport Meta Tag, to bespeak however to render a leafage connected a mobile.
  • Language meta-tags, to bespeak the contented connection of the page
  • Notranslate meta tag, to archer Google to not supply an automatic generated translation.
  • nositelinkssearchbox meta-tag, to not amusement the sitelinks hunt box.
  • meta charset tag, to specify the quality encoding of the web site.
  • meta refresh tag, to nonstop the idiosyncratic to a caller URL aft sometime, usually from a redirection. Although it is recommended to not usage this tag, and bash a 301 redirect.

Other meta tags, not essentials for SEO, but recommended to instrumentality into account:

  • Author meta-tag, to sanction the writer of the page
  • Copyright meta- tag, proprietor of the rights to the root codification of an HTML page.
  • Meta sanction standing tag, to specify big content
  • Date meta-tags, to bespeak the day of the content

As we tin see, determination are antithetic meta tags that tin beryllium utilized to assistance america pass successful a amended mode with some the idiosyncratic and hunt engines truthful that everyone understands amended the accusation that is provided. But it is important to cognize each 1 of them and optimize successful an charismatic and optimal way.

SEO Starter Pack

More
Source Marketing
Marketing