Working with Meta Tags for SEO
To understand the purpose and content of webpages, search engines scan the meta tags embedded in the HTML code. While the influence of meta tags on SEO rankings has changed over time as companies like Google and Yahoo! have updated their indexing methods, they remain a valuable tool for site optimization.
In this article, we will discuss:
What are Meta Tags?
In HTML, a meta tag is a snippet that provides metadata—information about a web page—to search engines and browsers. It doesn’t appear visibly on the page itself, but it is embedded underneath the page. This type of tag will help search engines categorize the content of your page.
In this section, we will discuss the two important meta tags that need to be included on every page:
Title Tag
Your website's title is an important part of your site's HTML code. The title should clearly describe the content of the web page. A reader should be able to understand what the page is about just by reading the title. A title tag should ideally be under 60 characters to display properly in search results.
Example: If you own a retail and wholesale paint supply store in Denver, Colorado, your title may look like the one below.
<title>Wholesale & Retail Paint Supply Company | Denver, Colorado</title>
Meta Description Tag
The description is often shown under the title, providing additional information about your website. It should be a brief description of your business, your products, and your services. It should be under 160 characters, an engaging summary that will entice the reader to visit your site.
Example: If you own a retail and wholesale paint supply store in Denver, Colorado, your description may look like the one below.
<meta name="description" content="Your trusted wholesale and retail paint supply company in Denver, Colorado. Offering quality paints, supplies, and expert service." />
Typically, meta tags for website titles and descriptions are inserted into the head section of your website. If you look at the HTML for your site, it might look something like this:
What are Alt Attributes?
In HTML, the alt attribute is used inside the tag to give an alternative text that describes the image. This text is not normally visible on the page but appears if the image fails to load. Alt attributes are essential for accessibility because screen readers use alt attributes to describe images to visually impaired users. They also help search engines understand image content, and most search engines treat the text in an alt attribute as indexable content, which can improve SEO.
Review
Meta tags and alt attributes are essential HTML elements that support search engines and users in understanding your website’s content. For best results, follow the instructions in this article to support search visibility and accessibility through well-optimized title tags, meta descriptions, and ALT attributes.