What are HTML Meta Tags?
January 30, 2023 ⚊ 3 Min read ⚊ HTMLHTML meta tags are used to provide additional information about a web page to search engines and browsers. They are placed within the <head> section of an HTML document and provide information such as a page’s description, keywords, author, and more.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<title>This is Title</title>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="description" content="This is meta tag description">
<meta name="keyword" content="This, is, meta, keyword">
<body>
<h1>This is First Heading</h1>
<p>This is first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
One of the most commonly used meta tags is the “description” tag. This tag provides a brief summary of the page’s content, which is used by search engines to display a snippet of the page in search results. A well-written description can improve the visibility of a page and increase the click-through rate from search results.
Another important meta tag is the “keywords” tag. This tag provides a list of keywords that are relevant to the page’s content. Although the importance of keywords has declined in recent years, they can still be used by some search engines to help determine the relevance of a page to a specific search query. However, overuse of keywords, known as “keyword stuffing”, can negatively impact a page’s ranking.
The “author” meta tag is used to specify the creator of a page’s content. This tag is not commonly used, but it can be useful for sites that feature content from multiple authors.
The “viewport” meta tag is used to control the behavior of a page on different devices, such as smartphones and tablets. This tag can be used to specify the width and height of the page, and it can also be used to disable zooming and prevent the page from being resized.
There are many other meta tags that can be used to provide additional information about a web page, including the “robots” tag, which is used to control how a page is indexed by search engines, and the “refresh” tag, which is used to redirect a page to another URL after a specified time period.
In conclusion, HTML meta tags play an important role in providing additional information about a web page to search engines and browsers. From keywords to descriptions and viewports, meta tags can help improve the visibility of a page and provide a better user experience for users on different devices.