What are meta tags and how do they affect SEO?

Meta tags are HTML markup elements that contain service information about a page and are placed within the block. They are not directly displayed on the page to the user, but are used by search engines and browsers to understand the content and purpose of the document.

Main types of meta tags

• Title is the page title that appears in search results and browser tabs. It's one of the key ranking factors.
• description — a short description of the page, often used in search results snippets.
• keywords - a list of keywords (in modern systems it has almost no effect on SEO, especially in Google).
• robots — instructions for search robots: whether to index the page or not, whether to follow links.
• viewport — setting the page's adaptability for mobile devices.

How Meta Tags Affect SEO

Meta tags directly and indirectly impact search engine optimization. The most important are the title and description.

The title influences a page's relevance to a search query and is a ranking factor. Furthermore, it forms the main headline in search results, which influences click-through rate.

The description isn't a direct ranking factor, but it does influence CTR (click-through rate). A well-written description increases the likelihood that a user will click through to your site.

The robots tag affects page indexing. It can be used to prevent or allow search engines from indexing a page or following links within it.

Thus, meta tags are an important part of SEO optimization, as they help search engines correctly interpret the page content and influence user behavior in search results.