Meta tag
Definition
A meta tag is an HTML element that is used to provide metadata about a webpage[1]. Meta tags are placed in the head section of the webpage's HTML code and typically look like this:
<meta name="keyword" content="keyword1, keyword2, keyword3">
Examples of meta tags
There are many types of meta tags, each with its own specific purpose. Some common meta tags include:
- Title: This meta tag specifies the title of the webpage and is displayed in the search results and in the browser's title bar. It is an important factor for both search engines and users, as it gives them an idea of what the page is about and helps them decide whether to click on the link to visit the page.
- Description: This meta tag provides a brief summary of the webpage's content and is used by search engines to generate the snippet of text that appears in the search results. A well-written description can help attract users to the page and improve its click-through rate in the search results.
- Robots: This meta tag specifies how search engines should crawl and index the webpage. It can be used to tell search engines not to index the page, to follow the page's links, or to do both. This can be useful for website owners who want to exclude certain pages from the search results or prevent search engines from following broken or unimportant links.
- Canonical: This meta tag specifies the preferred version of a webpage when there are multiple pages with similar or duplicate content. This can help prevent search engines from penalizing a website for having duplicate content and ensure that the correct page is indexed and ranked.
By using these and other relevant meta tags, website owners can help search engines understand the content of their webpages[2] and improve their visibility in the search results.