HTML & CSS Course
HTML & CSS
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Intermediate

SEO Meta Tags

Definition

HTML tags placed in the `<head>` of a document that provide data about the page to search engines (Google, Bing) to help them understand the content and rank it.

Explain Like I'm New

When Google's robot (Googlebot) visits your website, it's blind. It can't look at your pretty images. It relies on your `Title` and `Meta Description` tags to figure out what your site is about. These tags are exactly what shows up on the Google Search Results page.

Real World Example

If you search 'Nike shoes', the blue clickable link is the `<title>`, and the gray paragraph underneath it is the `<meta name="description">`.

Common Use Cases

  • •Ranking higher on Google
  • •Increasing click-through rates (CTR) from search results

Interactive Example

Interview Questions

basic

  • What is the ideal length for a Title tag?

intermediate

  • Does the `<meta name="keywords">` tag help your Google rankings?

Flash Cards

Question

Ideal length?

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Answer

Between 50 and 60 characters. If it is longer, Google will chop it off and add '...' at the end.

Question

Does meta keywords help?

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Answer

NO. Google completely ignores the keywords meta tag and has done so since 2009 because people abused it by spamming thousands of irrelevant keywords. Focus on writing good content instead.