Many people invest a lot of money in advanced SEO techniques and forget the basics. Meta tags and Metadata are considered the most basic elements of SEO.
Whether you are starting out or simply wondering why the Metas are crucial in SEO, it is important to get started with the basics.
Before we discuss the importance of Meta tags and Metadata in SEO, let’s define what Meta tags are.
What is a Meta tag?
A Meta tag is a snippet of text that describes the content in a page. The Meta tag itself is not included in the page, but only within the page’s coding.
Although Meta tags are small, they make up for a big piece of the SEO puzzle.
What’s the impact of Meta tags in SEO?
The main goal of SEO Meta tags is to give search engines a quick overview of the content on your website. The tags provide search engines with the information they need to accurately reflect SERPs depending on the search query.
With that said, you can tell what will happen to your website if you don’t use Meta tags. They may not appear in search results, but they are vital aspects of SEO. They will help you to achieve the top ranking position you have been working hard for.
What’s the difference between Meta tags and Metadata?
Although they are both important in SEO and SERPs, Meta tags usually work behind the scenes whereas Metadata can be viewed from the SERP page.
Metadata SEO is used on every page and includes the target keywords, title, and description. It describes the content on a page so that anyone who performs a search can know what to expect when they click the page from the search results. As such, it is important to update your Metadata whenever you update the content on your website.
You also need to update your Metadata with the most recent high ranking keywords in your niche. For instance, if you have an online store that sells Android phones and you update your keyword strategy regularly, you cannot optimize your site in 2019 based on the 2017 model of keywords.
This is because newer phone models have been released and the best way to get more traffic to your website is by using the latest keywords.
Should you add Meta tags to images?
Images are just as important as content in a web page. As such, they must also be optimized for SEO.
It is important to add alt tags to your images to improve their search engine ranking within a web page. If the images don’t have alt tags, they won’t appear in search results.
Alt tags are just like SEO Meta tags and Metadata in the sense that they provide search engines with the information they are looking for to display the target results.
Conclusion
SEO is an ongoing process that requires new keywords strategies, data, and constant updates to maintain a top search engine ranking. Meta tags and Metadata may seem basic strategies, but their importance can never be underestimated. With good Metadata and Meta tags, and the right SEO strategy, you will be ahead of the game.