Meta Data

What is Meta Data?

Metadata refers to structured information embedded in a webpage’s HTML code that provides search engines with additional details about the page's content. It helps search engines interpret what a page is about without directly displaying that information to users on the visible portion of the site.

Although metadata is not visible to visitors when browsing the page, it plays a crucial role behind the scenes in how the page is indexed and displayed in search engine results.

Common Types of Metadata

Here are the most frequently used types of metadata in SEO:

• Meta Title (<title> tag):
  The title of the page that appears in browser tabs and search engine result pages (SERPs). It's a key ranking factor.

• Meta Description (<meta name="description">):
  A short summary of the page that appears under the title in search results. It doesn’t directly affect rankings but impacts click-through rates.

• Meta Keywords (<meta name="keywords">):
  A list of relevant keywords. Once widely used, this tag is now largely ignored by major search engines like Google due to historical misuse.

• Meta Robots Tag (<meta name="robots">):
  Tells search engine crawlers how to handle the page (e.g., whether to index it or follow its links). Common directives include index, noindex, follow, and nofollow.

Metadata is a vital component of technical SEO that communicates the structure and purpose of a web page to search engines. Although invisible to users, it directly influences how your content appears in search results and can affect both ranking potential and click-through rates.

By crafting clear, optimized, and accurate metadata, you improve your chances of standing out in search results and reaching your target audience effectively.

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