Meta tag
A meta tag is an HTML tag in a page’s head that gives browsers, search engines and other platforms information about the page without appearing in its visible content
What it means, how it is used and where it comes up, with its related concepts.
What it is and how it works
The most common are the meta description, which may be used as the snippet text in search results; meta robots, which says whether the page should be indexed or its links followed; meta viewport, which controls how the page adapts to mobile screens; and the character set declaration. Open Graph tags, technically meta tags too, determine how a link looks when shared on social media.
Not all of them affect rankings: Google has ignored the meta keywords tag for years, and the meta description is not a ranking factor, although a good one can improve click-through rate. The title tag, which is highly relevant, sits in the head but is not a meta tag.
Also known as
metatag
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