They say first impressions are everything. And when it comes to your website’s visibility online, website meta tags are your first impression with search engines like Google.

How do meta tags help with SEO? Here’s what you need to know.

The Purpose of Meta Tags

So what are website meta tags? Meta tags are the parts of your site’s HTML that tell search engine what your content is about. They help search engines decide if your content is relevant and valuable enough to present to users. (We call that search engine optimization — SEO.)

Basically, if you want to show up in search results and achieve higher search rankings…they’re super important.

Which Tags Matter Most

Web developers know there are various types of meta tags. But if you want to improve your SEO without learning code, a few matter most.

  • Title Tag
  • Meta Description
  • Alt Text Tag

Again, there are several types of tags to tackle, but these are a great place to start.

When to Use Each Type of Tag

  • Title Tag – Tells Google and searchers what your webpage is about. Title tags appear across headers and in browser tabs.
  • Meta Description – Summarize your pages under their search listings. They help entice searchers to visit your site.
  • Alt Text Tag – These help search engines identify your images, since they can’t easily read them on their own.