Meta tags are HTML tags that are found within the header of a web page’s source code. Created solely for use by search engines they have less value than they once did but can still be used to provide important information about your site and search engines do still check for signs of black hat techniques within the meta tags of a page. Initially, the search engine index was created almost entirely from the content of these tags but they have become devalued to a degree with other on page and off page SEO being considered much more important.
Keywords Meta Tag
The Keywords meta tag has been open to abuse since search engines first used them to generate their listings. Webmasters would pump the keyword tag full of a repetitive list of keywords and for a while this technique worked. Other Webmasters even followed the route of irrelevant keywords by using high traffic keywords that were completely unrelated to their own site. While this technique may have provided some traffic, that traffic would have proven useful.
Avoiding Bad SEO
It’s unclear whether any weight at all is given to the keywords in your meta tags but search engines are widely believed to check for signs of spamming. Google and the other search engines aim to completely eliminate any site that uses spamming techniques in a bid to improve their search engine ranking. The repetitive or irrelevant use of keywords in the keyword meta tag is one area that they consider when doing this. If you do include meta tag optimisation in your SEO Campaign then only use relevant keywords, don’t repeat them over and over, and avoid the temptation to try any other tricks.
Description Meta Tag
The description meta tag can be considered at least partially beneficial. Not only do search engines use this in the same way to try and identify unethical websites but some use it when compiling the brief description of your web page that is used on the search engine results page. You may choose to use one or two of your most important keywords, but unethical use of keywords includes offering nothing but an incomprehensible string of keywords so avoid overdoing it.
The Title Tag
The title tag isn’t, strictly speaking, a meta tag but it is often considered in the same SEO breath because it features in the same area of the page. It is also used when creating your search engine result display and appears at the very top of the browser window when a visitor is viewing your web page. Using a compelling title that includes the most important keyword for a page can help improve performance and better your SEO efforts.
Meta Tags And SEO
SEO algorithms change frequently and meta tags have been continuously devalued by the search engines and are now virtually useless to the SEO. Search engines use the keywords and description meta tag more as a potential indicator of unethical SEO than they do to help determine the value of a page although some of the meta tags may be used when constructing the short description of your site that is shown on the search results page.
