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What are Meta Tags?

Thursday, 02. 17. 2011  –  Category: On-Page Optimization, SEO Process

Definition

Meta tags in html are not necessary tags when creating web pages. But they do a lot for webmasters particularly in providing search engines with information about their sites. Systems only process meta tags that they understand and disregards the rest. Meta tags are added to the head section of an HTML page. Meta tags are used by some search engines so they can be more relevant in listing a site in their indexes.

The use of meta tags vary in different search engines. Some search engines make use of the text in meta tags to be the descriptor on the results page which is found below your sites link. But this might not be the case for other search engines that make use of the first sentences on your page. Meta tags are almost similar to title tags but they are not found at the top of the page. The importance of meta tags lie not only on how they provide description on the content of web pages but also in storing keywords for search engines. To sum it up, meta tags the common uses of meta tags are to identify the creator of the page, the keywords and description of the page, what HTML specifications the page follows and the refresh parameter.

Two Types of Meta Tags

HTTP-EQUIV

META HTTP-EQUIV tags can be liken to HTTP headers. These headers generate information to the Web browser about what to display in this particular document.

META HTTP-EQUIV tags are very useful as it can control or direct the actions of Web browsers. And as mentioned earlier, they are used to further refine the information provided by the actual headers. Some Web servers take META HTTP-EQUIV tags into actual HTTP headers automatically so that the user’s Web browser would directly view them as normal headers. This is because meta tags are designed to work similarly like the usual headers.

NAME

Another type is NAME. These META tags with a NAME element are used for META types which do not equate to normal HTTP headers. This, however, is debatable among developers, as some search engine agents (worms and robots) interpret tags which contain the keyword attribute whether they are “name” or “http-equiv” causing more confusion.

The important thing to remember is when using meta tags you should be clear. Ideally, you would have to use keywords in your description and limit it to 250 words. When writing the description for meta tags, keep in mind that you are writing for people.

Tags: alt tags, meta description, meta keywords, meta tags, meta title, onpage optimization