Website operators know that search engine optimization (SEO) is probably the most important online marketing measure.

SEO contributes to the fact that websites can be found by the classic search engines and accordingly be displayed among the first search results. If you approach Search Engine Optimization correctly, you can expect a high ranking on search engines such as
Google or Bing.

One of the most important factors when it comes to influencing the ranking of your own
website is the correct naming and use of the so-called meta elements.
If these basic elements are used and implemented correctly, they contribute to a higher
user volume on the respective website.

So do not underestimate the importance of meta elements for SEO - because these data
are important basic information for search engine optimization.

In this article you will learn how the meta elements for SEO can influence the ranking in the search engines
!

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What are meta elements?

Meta elements, also called meta tags, are readable code snippets that can be read by the
so-called web crawlers of search engines.

Web crawlers are computer programs that search the Internet and analyze web pages. They are used by search engines to read and index websites. The crawlers
of Google, Bing and Co. are significantly involved in the identification of new web pages as well as in the
update of existing pages. The pages are then included in the
search engine index, listed and displayed accordingly in the
search results, i.e. ranked.

Since the crawlers cannot evaluate the entire content of a web page, they look
at the meta tags. From the code snippets of these meta tags, the search engines
can extract important information such as the details of the title, the contents of the page, the author,
links, etc.

Accordingly, metadata serves to tell search engines more about the content of a web page. The role of meta elements for SEO is therefore very significant: this data determines how relevant and "important" a web page is ultimately classified by the search engines and at which position in the ranking (keyword: search engine ranking) this web page is also placed in the next step.

The meta elements are always placed in the head section of any HTML document
. While the code snippets can be read by machines,
the meta elements are not visible to the visitor of the website. However, for you as the site owner
it is still important to know that the meta tags are subject to, among other things, special specifications
(e.g. regarding their length), which are set by the search engines.

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What is the importance of meta elements for SEO?

Back in the 90s, search engines like Google found it difficult to independently read the content of
web pages. This led to the inclusion of meta elements in the head area
of web pages in order to make the pages readable for the search engines
. Via the meta tags the web pages could be evaluated by the search engines
and thematically correctly classified. Accordingly, the meta
elements developed for SEO as a crucial ranking factor!

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Meta elements for SEO and search engines - this is what matters!

The search engines can recognize and read different meta tags. The respective
meta data transmits different information to the search engine. There is a
series of meta elements with which the information and commands are passed on to the search robots
. Only those who know the meaning of the individual tags can also optimize them
to improve their own position with the search engines.

Since Google is one of the largest and most relevant search engines in the world, the
specifications of this search engine serve as orientation for most webmasters. Consequently,
the following meta tags are valid for the Googlebot - even if they are also readable and understandable for the
crawlers of other search engines.

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The most important meta elements for SEO (search engine optimization)

• Title Tag
• Keyword tag
• Meta Description
• Robots tag

Meta elements for SEO - the title tag

In addition to the content of a web page, it is above all the title tag that is important for the placement in the
ranking of the search engines. The title tag contains the title of a
web page, moreover, it is displayed to users in the search result as a title and is thus
an important ranking factor.

Since users see the title tag as the title in the search results, it has an
enormous influence on the click-through rate. After all, the title of a text, along with the
meta description, is the first point of contact a user has with a web page. Consequently
the title should not only be optimized and written for the search engines, but absolutely also for the users
. This is the only way to ultimately achieve a correspondingly high
click-through rate - which, as is well known, is also decisive for the ranking on the search engines
!

Tip: An appealing title ensures that users also visit the website. So always make sure
that your title is clearly formulated and offers users a clear
added value. In addition, the title should not be longer than 60 characters!

Meta elements for SEO - Meta keywords

Meta keywords were once among the most important optimization options. This is because
the way search engines worked 20 years ago was far more primitive than it is
today. At that time, it was a welcome possibility for website operators to achieve high rankings or good search engine results with
little effort.

However, many people started to engage in downright keyword spamming. That is, one or
several keywords were used so often within a text that often
even the readability of the text was lost. Mass instead of class was the motto, so that
the content ultimately no longer had any real benefit for the user.

Accordingly, the search engines took radical action against keyword spamming,
which is why keywords and thus meta keywords became less and less relevant.

In the meantime, meta keywords have almost completely lost their significance. As early as 2009
Google confirmed that keywords no longer have any significance for the placement
of a website in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Consequently, the meta tag "Keywords" no longer plays a decisive
role for a good ranking!

Meta elements for SEO - Meta Description (Meta Description)

Together with the title of a (web)page, the meta description is the first thing the user
sees - which is why no one should do without it!

The Meta Description briefly describes the page. This description appears in the SERPs
under the title and the URL. As a result of keyword penalization, the meta
description no longer has a ranking-increasing function - although: if it is well designed, then
it can have a positive effect on the click rate of your website.

Meta elements for SEO - the robots tag

The robot tags can be understood as commands that give the search engines clear
instructions for crawling and indexing the page. Robot tags such as index or noindex
indicate whether a page should be indexed by the search engines at all and accordingly
listed in the ranking of the search results. The tags follow and
nofollow respectively tell the crawlers whether they should follow the links to other websites
or not.

The robot tags thus give the crawler as direct and clear instructions and can
thus possibly even possible Abstrafungen by the search engines
prevent!

Meta elements SEO and ranking on search engines

Different meta elements therefore contribute to your website being ranked higher
among the first search result positions. Even if certain meta tags are no longer as relevant today
as they were back then, these elements should definitely not be ignored in your
online marketing strategy! Meta elements are sometimes an
important ranking factor, which can also influence the click-through rate in the search results
.

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You want to know more?

Do you want to learn more about search engines, rankings and meta elements for SEO? Then you can here for a free initial consultation.

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