Meta tags are part of the HTML tags that describe your page content to search engines and website visitors. The Meta tags appear only in the page's code and anyone can check them via source code (Ctrl+U).

In short, Meta tags are key things for all search engines that appear in the HTML code of a website page and tells the search engine what the page is about, and they are the first impression and point of contact for all search engines.

Meta tags added in the section of an HTML web page and they are the “Legally” Hide Words on Your Pages for Search Engines.

Every platform has different solutions for adding Meta tags, just like WordPress has free plugins to choose from. I personally recommend the All in One SEO Pack and Yoast SEO plugins. Both are popular and you can choose any according to your need.

Do Meta Tags matter for SEO in 2024?

Yes, they do, but not all Meta tags can help you in 2024.

In my experience, if you want to rank high in Google in 2024 then you also need to focus on high-quality content and user satisfaction. The main goal of this post is to explain which Meta tags are good to go with and which are simply dead and have no use.

(See below: There are a few tags, we can call them the bad Meta tags and we should simply ignore them.)

How to check Meta tags on a site

If you want to check the Meta tags for any page, just right-click anywhere on the page and select “View Page Source”. You can also use tools like SEMrush (specifically the SEMrush Audit Tool), and Screaming Frog to check the Meta tags on any site.

The Most Important Meta Tags For SEO in 2024

I personally focus on the 8 major Meta tags which can improve the optimization of your startup business or running website.

I am sharing my opinions about them all below:

1. Title tag
2. Meta description
3. Canonical Tag
4. Alternative text (Alt) Tag
5. Robots meta tag
6. Social Media Meta Tags (Open Graph and Twitter Cards)
7. Responsive Design Meta Tag

Title tag

The Title tag is the very first HTML element that specifies your web page for search engines and to visitors. The Title element supports all browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc.

Always add your Title tag in the section of your site.

Optimal length for the Title tag: Google typically shows 55-64 characters (keep it under 60).

Title tag optimization is important for search engines and visitors. It shows up in the SERP and in Browser Tabs.

Browser Tab Title Tag shown below for Templatemonster post:

SERP Title Tag shown below for Moti Hamou - Online Marketing Expert:

Key Points to write a good Title tag:

• Add “modifiers” to your title tag (How to |The current year | Review |Best | Tips | Top |Find | Buy | Easy)
• Embed long tail keywords in title tags
• Add numbers to your title (9 Important HTML tags for your website to improve your SEO)
• Start your title tag with your main targeted keyword
• Don't stuff your keywords
• Every page should have a unique title tag

Meta description

A Meta Description is an HTML element that summarizes your web page. Search engines typically show the Meta description in search results below your Title tag.

Code sample

Google does not use the Meta description as a ranking signal; still, it has a massive effect on your Google CTR because it shows up in search results.

In December 2017, Google increased the length of snippets in search results. Now Google confirms it shortened search results snippets after expanding them last December.

What will be the optimum length for Meta Description?

The new average length of the description snippet field on desktop is at around 160 characters, down from around 300+ characters.

Mobile characters for the search results snippets are now down to an average of 130 characters.

Google-generated Description in search results

Key Points to write a good Meta Description tag:

• Don't put emphasis on the number of characters, as Google might pull Meta description text from your content based on a user's query.
• Do not add duplicate Meta Descriptions
• Add clear Call-to-action (CTA) in your descriptions like Apply today, Check-out, Contact us today etc. See these CTA keywords for marketing campaigns
• Add your targeted keywords in descriptions
• Strategically provide solutions to a problem
• Write for your users and encourage them to click with specific and relevant content
• Add any discounts or offers you’ve going on
• Show empathy while writing your Meta Descriptions Canonical Tag

The Canonical tag is an HTML link tag with “rel=canonical” attribute that is used if you have a single page URL that has the same content with other multiple page URLs.

By implementing the Canonical tag in the code, we are telling search engines that this URL is the main page and avoid indexing other duplicate page URLs.

A canonical tag Syntax:

Where should we choose a canonical URL?

Multiple URLs:

• http://www.example.com
• https://www.example.com
• http://example.com
• http://example.com/index.php

Google sees all the above URLs as duplicate versions of the Homepage. And to fix this problem, the canonical tag (rel=canonical) was invented.

Session ID URLs:

These are the automatic system-generated URLs and commonly generated due to the tracking URLs, breadcrumb links and permalinks in CMS

http://example.com/properties/villa-331-luxury-rental?partnerID=18

http://example.com/target.php?session_id=rj3ids98dhpa0mcf3jc89mq1t0

Mobile URL:

When using a special URL (m. example.com) for the mobile version of your website.

SEMrush itself has 2 versions - one is a mobile version and the other is a desktop version. For the mobile and desktop version, SEMrush is using the following canonical tag:

Alternative text (Alt) Tag

The Alt tag is important for any images, as search engines cannot read them, so you need to add proper Alt text to the images so the search engine can consider them.

Syntax for Alt Text:

Header tags
A Header tag is used for headings creations, i.e. by using these we can apply font changes.
The heading elements are H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6 with H1 being the highest (or most important) level and H6 the least.
Here is an example of how we can use header tags taken from SEMrush:
 9 Tips for Boosting the Speed of your Shopify Website 
 
Paragraph of content
 
another paragraph of content
 
Performance Analysis
 
Paragraph of content
 
Analyzes the Mobile and Desktop Performance with PageSpeed Insights
Responsive Design Meta Tag
The final important Meta tag is the Responsive Design Meta tag, which we call “Viewport Meta Element”. By using the viewport meta tag we can control layout for web pages on mobile browsers.
This viewport element is included in the head section of your web page.
Syntax:
If you want to learn more about this responsive design Meta tags, head over to this nicely written post.
Note: Do not use this responsive Meta tag if your website pages are not responsive, as it will make the user experience worse.
Meta Tags to ignore
Finally, there are a few tags - we can call them bad Meta tags and we should simply ignore them:
Keywords tag- Google does not use the keywords Meta tag in web ranking. - Source
Revisit after – This HTML tag is a command to robots to return to a page after a specific period. This tag is not followed by any major search engine and has no value in SEO. It is better to avoid this tag and leave it to the search engines to decide how to crawl your website. Syntax: 
Expiration/date – This tag defines the expiration date of your page. Personally I would not recommend this, just remove this if you are using it. Syntax: 
Site verification- Just ignore this. You can verify your site using Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster tool.
Copyright- Every site puts their copyright in the footer, so you don't need a separate tag. A big NO for this tag.
Distribution – The "distribution" value is supposedly used to control who can access the document, typically set to "global". It's inherently implied that if the page is open (not password-protected, like on an intranet) that it's meant for the world. Go with it, and leave the tag off the page. - Source
Generator – Useless tag.
Cache control –This tag allows web publishers to define how often a page is cached. Generally, these are not required; we can simply use the HTTP header instead of this HTML tag.
The ODP Robots Meta Tag - Google no longer follows this Meta tag. -Source
Geo Meta Tag - Google does not use Geo Meta tags to rank pages. - Source
So these are the few HTML tags which we should consider or simply ignore. Now you can easily use the relevant HTML Meta tags intelligently.
Don’t forget to comment below and share your views on HTML Tags. Thanks for reading!
Note: The opinions expressed in this article are the views of the author, and not necessarily the views of Caphyon, its staff, or its partners.
Article by
Ashok Sharma
Ashok Sharma is a writer, blogger, Digital marketer and social media enthusiast. He helped businesses gain more traffic and online visibility through technical, strategic SEO and targeted PPC campaigns. Connect him on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter for a quick chat.
What is meta name keywords content?
Meta keywords are meta tags that you can use to give search engines more information about a page's content. They're found in a webpage's HTML source code, and are not visible to visitors.nullMeta Keywords: What Are They and Should You Use Them? - Ahrefsahrefs.com › blog › meta-keywordsnull
What is the meta name description content page description?
A meta description tag generally informs and interests users with a short, relevant summary of what a particular page is about. They are like a pitch that convince the user that the page is exactly what they're looking for.nullHow to Write Meta Descriptions | Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com › Search Central › Documentationnull
Should you include keywords in meta description?
Each meta description should include the page's primary keyword—the main search query you want the page to rank for. This won't affect your SEO directly. But it can encourage users to click. Especially because Google often bolds words that appear in or are synonyms of the query.nullWhat Is a Meta Description? (+ How to Write One & Best Practices)www.semrush.com › blog › meta-descriptionnull
What are meta keywords for SEO page title?
You should include keywords in both your page title and your meta description. This increases the chance that a search user will spot the search query or keyword phrase they were looking for. Starting each meta description with the right target keywords can be effective at increasing the click-through rate of a page.nullHow To Write Page Titles and Meta Descriptions for SEO - Exposure Ninjaexposureninja.com › blog › how-to-write-meta-titles-and-descriptionsnull