Meta tags are HTML elements that provide metadata about your web page to search engines and social platforms. While there are dozens of meta tags, only a handful actually impact your SEO.
Meta Tags That Google Uses
Title Tag
The <title> tag is the single most important on-page SEO element. It appears in search results, browser tabs, and social shares.
- Length: 50-60 characters (Google truncates at ~600 pixels)
- Format: Primary Keyword — Secondary Keyword | Brand
- Tips: Front-load important keywords, make it compelling, each page needs a unique title
Meta Description
The meta description appears below the title in search results. It doesn't directly affect rankings, but it heavily influences click-through rate (CTR), which does.
- Length: 150-160 characters
- Tips: Include a call-to-action, mention key benefits, use active voice
- Note: Google rewrites descriptions ~70% of the time, but a good description still matters for the other 30%
Meta Robots
Controls how search engines crawl and index the page.
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">Viewport
Essential for mobile-first indexing. Without it, your page won't display correctly on mobile devices.
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">Social Meta Tags
Open Graph (Facebook, LinkedIn)
Controls how your page appears when shared on social platforms.
<meta property="og:title" content="Your Title">
<meta property="og:description" content="Your description">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/image.jpg">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page">Twitter Cards
Controls how your page appears when shared on Twitter/X.
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Your Title">
<meta name="twitter:description" content="Your description">Meta Tags That Don't Matter
- meta keywords — Google has ignored this since 2009
- meta author — Not used for ranking
- meta revisit-after — Completely ignored by all search engines
- meta rating — Only matters for SafeSearch
Testing Your Meta Tags
Use DarnItSEO's Meta Tags tab to analyze all meta tags on any page. The SERP Preview tool lets you see exactly how your page will appear in Google search results.