What Are Meta Tags?
Meta tags are HTML elements that live in the <head> section of a web page. They are invisible to visitors but critical for SEO — they tell search engines the title, description, and keywords of your page, and tell social platforms how to display your content when shared.
The Most Important Meta Tags
- Title tag: The clickable headline in Google search results. Keep it 50–60 characters.
- Meta description: A summary shown under the title in search results. Keep it 150–160 characters.
- Meta keywords: Less important today but still used by some search engines.
- Open Graph (og:title, og:description, og:image): Controls how your page looks when shared on Facebook and LinkedIn.
- Twitter Card tags: Controls how your page appears in Twitter/X shares.
- Robots tag: Tells search engines whether to index the page and follow its links.
How to Generate Meta Tags Online
<head> section of your HTML file.Do Meta Keywords Still Matter?
Google officially ignores the meta keywords tag since 2009. However, some smaller search engines and directory services still use it. It's harmless to include a few relevant keywords.
FAQ
How long should my title tag be?
50–60 characters is the sweet spot. Google typically displays about 600px worth of title text — around 55–60 characters for most fonts. Titles that are too long get truncated with "..."
What makes a good meta description?
A good meta description is 150–160 characters, includes your primary keyword naturally, and reads like an advertisement — it should compel users to click your result over competitors.