Top 10 HTML Tags for better Search Engine Optimization (SEO)


10 HTML Tags for SEO






Introduction


Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a complex and sophisticated practice that aims to improve a website's visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).

 Search Engine Land  says this about SEO.  

SEO means the process of improving your website to increase its visibility in Google, Microsoft Bing, and other search engines whenever people search for it.


By optimizing various elements of a website and implementing strategies that align with search engine algorithms, businesses, and website owners can attract organic (unpaid) traffic and increase their online presence.
Among the many strategies, using SEO-friendly HTML tags is one of the popular solutions. In this blog, I will list 10 HTML tags for SEO. 

Let's start without further ado.

  1. Title tag                                              
  2. Meta Description Tag                        
  3. Meta Robots Tag                              
  4. Heading Tags (H1-H6)                     
  5. Image Alt Tags             
  6. <link rel="canonical">    
  7. Language Meta-Tags      
  8. Open Graph Tags (OG)       
  9. Viewport Meta Tag    
  10. Geo Location Meta Tags





1. Title tag




A title tag is an HTML element that defines the title of a web page and appears in search engine results and browser tabs. It not only helps users understand the content of the page but also plays a significant role in search engine ranking algorithms. 

Best Practice

    ✅  Accurately describe the page's content.  
    ✅  Create a unique element for each page. 
    ❌  Don't use text in the title tag that has no relation to the page's content.
    ❌  Don't use generic text in title tags like  "Untitled" or "New Page".
    ❌  Don't make it too long no strict rules for it but don't make it more than 60 characters long.


---------------------------------------------------------------
<head>
 <title>Your website title text here</title>
<head>
---------------------------------------------------------------


2. Meta Description Tag 





The meta description tag is an HTML element that provides a concise summary of the content of a web page. It appears below the title tag and provides users with a brief preview of what they can expect to find on the page. While not a direct ranking factor, a well-crafted meta description can influence click-through rates and provide additional context to users about the content of the page. 

Best Practice

✅  Summarize the page accurately and briefly.
✅  Use a unique description tag for each page.
         ✅  Write in human friendly way, do not fill with keywords.
❌  Don't write a description that has no relation to the page's content.
         ❌  Do not make it too short and externally lengthy, make the length of the character between 150 to 160. 

---------------------------------------------------------------
<head>
    <meta name="description" content="description of your page" />
</head>
---------------------------------------------------------------


 3. Meta Robots Tag



This tag tells search engine bots whether to index a page, follow its links, or apply certain directives like "noindex" or "nofollow."

 4. Heading Tags (H1-H6) 




---------------------------------------------------------------
<h1>Main Heading</h1>
<p>Introduction...</p>
---------------------------------------------------------------

Header tags are HTML elements used to structure and organize content on a web page. Properly using heading tags not only improves the readability and accessibility of your content but also helps search engines understand the structure and relevance of your content

Best Practice

  ✅ Consistently use heading tags in a logical order. Don't jump from one size to another randomly.
  ❌ Do not place text in the heading tag, that wouldn't be helpful in defining the structure of the page.


 5. Image Alt Tags 






Image alt tags, also known as alt text or alt attributes, are HTML attributes used to provide a textual description of images on a web page. Properly using image alt tags is important for web accessibility and SEO. Alt text is a big part of how images are indexed in Google search.

---------------------------------------------------------------
<img src="image.jpg" alt="describtive alt text" />
---------------------------------------------------------------

Best Practice

✅  Avoid using CSS to display images for images that need to be indexed
✅  Alt text should provide a concise, accurate, and meaningful description of the image. 
✅  Incorporating relevant keywords  but avoid keyword stuffing or using irrelevant keywords 
❌ Avoid using generic filenames like image1.jpg

 6. <link rel="canonical">




This is an HTML element used to indicate the preferred version of a web page when there are multiple URLs with similar or duplicate content. This tag specifies the preferred version of a web page in cases where duplicate content exists, helping search engines understand which page to consider.

Use Cases

✔ If your site uses different URLs for the same content (e.g. HTTP and HTTPS) you can use a canonical tag to specify the preferred version
✔ When you have paginated content you can use a canonical tag on subsequent pages to point back to the first page.

---------------------------------------------------------------
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/preferred-url" />
</head>
---------------------------------------------------------------
 

Best Practice

✅  Consistency:- Make sure they are correct and consistent across all versions of the duplicate content.


7. Language Meta-Tags




Language meta tags are used to indicate the language of the content on a webpage. These tags help search engines and browsers understand the language in which the content is written, which is important for proper indexing and providing a better user experience. Indicating the primary language helps search engines deliver more relevant search results to users based on their language preferences and location.

Two common language meta-tags are the "lang" attribute and the "meta" tag with the "http-equiv" attribute.


Lang attribute
---------------------------------------------------------------
<html lang="en">
   <!-- Rest of the HTML content -->
</html>
---------------------------------------------------------------

Meta tag with the http-equiv attribute
---------------------------------------------------------------
<head>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en">
</head>
---------------------------------------------------------------


Best Practice

✅  Use the "lang" attribute or "meta" tag consistently and accurately to indicate the primary language of your content.
✅  For multilingual websites, implement the appropriate language meta-tags for each language version of your pages.
✅  Ensure that the language specified in the meta-tags matches the actual content on the page.
✅  Regularly review and update language meta-tags when you add or modify content on your website.

 8. Open Graph Tags (OG)




OG tags are a set of meta-tags used to control how content is displayed when shared on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. They allow you to customize how your content appears in social media posts, including the title, description, image, and other metadata. Open Graph tags help in boosting search and display abilities for social media.

Common Open Graph Tags

♤ <meta property="og:title" content="Title of Your Content">: Specifies the title of the content.
♤ <meta property="og:description" content="Description of Your Content">: Provides a brief description of the content.
♤ <meta property="og:image" content="URL of Your Image">: Defines the image that should be displayed with the preview.
♤ <meta property="og:url" content="URL of Your Content">: Specifies the URL of the content being shared.
♤ <meta property="og:type" content="Type of Your Content">: Indicates the type of content (e.g., article, video, website).
♤ <meta property="og:site_name" content="Name of Your Site">: Specifies the name of the website or app.


---------------------------------------------------------------
<head>
    <meta property="og:title" content="Your Title">
    <meta property="og:description" content=" This is a description of the article content.">
  ...
</head>
---------------------------------------------------------------

9.  Viewport Meta Tag


The viewport meta tag is an HTML element used to control how a web page is displayed on different devices with varying screen sizes and resolutions, especially on mobile devices. It helps ensure that the content is properly scaled and fits within the user's device screen, providing an optimized and responsive viewing experience. Responsive design and proper viewport settings are important for SEO. Google and other search engines prioritize mobile-friendly websites in mobile search results, so having a responsive design can positively impact your search rankings.


---------------------------------------------------------------
<head>
   <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
</head>
---------------------------------------------------------------


 10. Geo Location Meta Tags




This type of tag simply tells the search engine where you are located and will help prioritize the site to visitors looking in that area. it’s essential for any business operating in a specific location. These tags can be used to specify the physical location, address, and other geographic details related to the content. 

Common Geo Location Meta Tags

♤ <meta name="geo.position" content="latitude;longitude">: Specifies the geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the content.
♤ <meta name="geo.placename" content="Place Name">: Provides the name of the location associated with the content.
♤ <meta name="geo.region" content="Region Code">: Specifies the region or country code for the location.


---------------------------------------------------------------
<head>
    <meta name="geo.position" content="37.7749;-122.4194">
    <meta name="geo.placename" content="San Francisco, CA">
    <meta name="geo.region" content="US-CA">
</head>
---------------------------------------------------------------


Best Practice

✅  Make  it accurate and consistent with other location-related information on your website
❌  This tag may not be necessary if your website does not have a specific geographical focus.

Conclusion

As we wrap up this blog, it's evident that webpages require more than just a superficial sprinkling of SEO tags to achieve optimal search engine optimization. Instead, SEO tags assume a pivotal role in enhancing a website's discoverability and visibility. I trust that the insights shared in this blog have proven valuable to you, shedding light on the significant role of SEO tags in the digital landscape. Kindly share your thoughts on the content in the comments.

If you are interested Top 10 Essential HTML Tags for Better Accessibility

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