The world wide web has come a long way since the days of ye old meta keywords tag.
The word “meta” in the context of web development can be defined as a way to provide more information about the current HTML document. This subject is much debated and has really evolved over the last 20 years, and even moreso in the last 3 years.
While some folks might be rolling their eyes at how basic this information is, to many people this information is new. I am even going to go as far as saying that this information is vital to the success of any website.
These meta tags are not here just for kicks and for “SEO.” The meta tags used within the examples of this blog post are very essential in the fact that they can make a post look either spectacular or horrible on social media or the search engines.
Generic Meta Tags
Meta description tag
This tag exists to describe the current document. As an SEO, you should really keep this to about 140-160 characters or take out your tape measure and make it about 923 pixels. This tag is also commonly used by search engines to display the description.
Title Tag
While technically it does not have the word “meta” within it, it still can be classified as one. I for one feel as though the title tag is one of the most important elements of a website, in terms of markup.
Facebook Open Graph
Facebook has conceptualized and developed a standard for social sharing that has extended beyond Facebook and into other social networks such as Pinterest, LinkedIn and more. Markup your website (or blog, video, etc) with these tags for a better looking post on these social networks.
OG:type
This can be anything from an article, blog place or product to more complex parameters such as a restaurant or game achievement.
OG:title
Very similar to the
Get Social!