What are Meta Tags and Why Meta Tags Are Important In SEO?
Meta tags are HTML tags that are used to provide information about a web page to search engines and website visitors. These tags are included in the <head> section of the HTML code and are not visible to website visitors.
Meta tags are important for SEO because they help search engines understand what a web page is about and how it should be indexed. Meta tags also provide information that can be used to create the snippets that appear in search results.
Different Types of Meta Tags
There are several types of meta tags, but the most important ones for SEO are the following:
1. Title Tags:
Title tags are an important part of on-page SEO because they tell search engines and website visitors what a web page is about. A well-crafted title tag can also entice website visitors to click through to your website from search results.
Here are some best practices for creating effective title tags:
- Keep your title tag under 60 characters. This is the limit for how much of the title tag will be displayed in the search results.
- Include your target keyword in the title tag, but don't stuff it with too many keywords.
- Make your title tag descriptive and compelling. It should accurately reflect what the web page is about and entice people to click through to your website.
- Put your brand name at the end of the title tag, if appropriate. This can help build brand awareness and recognition.
2. Description Tags:
The description tag is another meta tag that appears in the <head> section of the HTML code of a web page. It provides a brief summary of what the web page is about and appears in the search results as the text below the title tag.
Description tags are important for on-page SEO because they help search engines understand what a web page is about and can also entice website visitors to click through to your website from search results.
Here are some best practices for creating effective description tags:
- Keep your description tag under 155 characters. This is the limit for how much of the description tag will be displayed in the search results.
- Include your target keyword in the description tag, but don't stuff it with too many keywords.
- Make your description tag compelling and engaging. It should accurately reflect what the web page is about and encourage people to click through to your website.
- Avoid using the same description tag for multiple pages. Each description tag should be unique and specific to the page it's describing.
By following these best practices, you can create effective title tags and description tags that help improve your on-page SEO and attract more website visitors.
3. Keyword Tag:
This meta tag used to be important for SEO, but search engines now largely ignore it.
4. Robots Tag:
This meta tag tells search engine robots which pages to index and which pages to ignore.
How to Set Meta Tags in Blogger
If you are using Blogger as your blogging platform, you can easily set your meta tags by following these steps:
1. Log in to your Blogger account and select the blog you want to edit.
2. Go to the "Settings" section and click on "Search preferences."
3. Under "Meta tags," click on "Edit."
4. You can now edit your title and description tags. Make sure to include your target keywords in both tags, but keep the title tag under 60 characters and the description tag under 155 characters.
5. Save your changes and republish your blog.
Conclusion
Meta tags are an important part of on-page SEO. By setting your title and description tags properly, you can help search engines understand what your web page is about and improve your chances of ranking well in search results. If you're using Blogger as your blogging platform, setting your meta tags is easy and straightforward. Just remember to follow best practices and use your target keywords wisely.