metatag

A meta tag is an HTML element that provides metadata about the HTML document. It is placed in the head section and is not displayed to users. Meta tags use a name or property attribute and a content value, for example: <meta charset="UTF-8"> or <meta name="description" content="A concise description."> In HTML5, the tag is void and does not render.

Common uses include declaring character encoding, specifying the viewport for responsive design, and providing a page description for search results. The robots tag can control indexing and link following. The keywords tag was historically used for search engines but is largely ignored today.

Meta tags also support social media integration through Open Graph and Twitter Card metadata, such as <meta property="og:title" content="..."> and <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary">, enabling richer previews when links are shared.

Best practices: keep metadata accurate and concise; place tags within the head; verify encoding and responsiveness; use structured data (JSON-LD) for machine readability beyond meta tags.

Limitations: meta tags influence indexing and presentation but do not guarantee behavior; search engines rely on many signals, including page content, and some tags may be deprecated or ignored by modern engines.