Last Updated on September 15, 2022 by admin
The sole purpose of any website is to drive traffic. And the best way to draw the attention of potential clients is by improving website ranking on the search engine. Every SEO expert must be knowledgeable about the popular HTML Tags that can help them get a better rank on the search engine like Google, Bing, Yandex, and others.
What are HTML Tags?
HTML tags are the coded elements found at the back-end of all web pages. They provide necessary information to the search engines about the webpage and help them in displaying the content when searched by the users.
These elements help search engines to focus on the key phrase and display the result as and when enquired by the searchers. In short, they affect your website performance on the Internet.
Let’s check out the popular HTML tags that impact website ranking in 2022.
1. Title Tag
The most important HTML tag for SEO is the title tag. Results that we see in the search engines are derived from title tags. The title is the label of your content. Though, it is up to the search engine whether it will create a separate SERP headline or use the content of any section as the headline of the page. But the first place where search engines like Google, Bing, and Yandex check for headlines is the title tag, and they display the results accordingly.
Best Practices
Your title must contain the keywords which will allow it to appear in search results. Make your title attractive enough for users to click through and try to maintain a balance between search optimization and user experience with the followings:
Length
Google only includes the first 50 to 60 characters of your title and cuts the rest. So it is not a serious issue to have a longer title than 60 characters if you manage to fit the important information before the cut-off point.
Always include a reasonable number of keywords. Keywords stuffing most likely get penalized. But using one or two keywords will be fine. Construct your title in the form of a coherent sentence.
Write a good copy
Always create a descriptive title for highlighting the value of your content. It is important to set up proper expectations so that users are not let down after visiting your page.
Add your brand name
Add your recognizable brand name if you have any to the title for increasing your click-through rate. Optimizing your title tags is worth the effort. Always make it easier for search engines and audiences when looking up your content.
2. Meta Description Tag
Meta description tag is another vital HTML tag for SEO. This information is also displayed in the search results of Google, same as the title.
Meta descriptions are used for setting up descriptions within search results snippets. Google always does not use meta description tags for creating these snippets, but if it is there, then there is a chance that your meta description will appear on the SERP.
If your meta description tag is not that interesting, Google may ignore it and instead select a bit of copy from the page. It usually happens when the quote is better than the meta description tag, and Google chooses the best option for increasing your chances of click-through.
Best Practices
Rules for meta descriptions are not that strict. If you are unable to write a good one, Google will write one for you.
Watch the length
Google always keeps the first 150 to 160 characters of the meta description and cuts the rest. Always include important information early for maximizing searcher interest.
Write a good copy
A meta description is not used for ranking but to optimize it for search intent. More users will visit your page if the description is more relevant based on the respective query. Try not to skip meta descriptions.
If you find it difficult to write a meta description using relevant keywords, the best is to leave the meta description out. Google will go through your page and populate your snippet with relevant quotes.
3. Header Tags
Header tags help to break up the content and make it easier for website visitors to read. It is a fact that more than 55% of visitors only spend 15 seconds reading your content.
Today, barely anyone reads the whole article. Most of us generally scan the article, and read-only those sections we like. If a blog is not split into sections, people ignore it.
Headings are only handy reading aids from the perspective of a user.
But from the perspective of search engines, heading tags are the core of the content. It helps bots to understand what the page is about.
Best Practices
Rules for header tags are derived from general copywriting practices. Maintain consistent formatting by breaking your copy into bite-sized pieces.
Never use more than one H1
H1 headings are different from other headings because search engines treat them as the page title. But it is not the title tag that is displayed in search results. The heading tag is present on the webpage.
Always maintain a shallow structure
There is no need to go below H3. Use H1 heading for the title, H2 for sections, and H3 heading for subsections.
Form query like headings
Each heading is an additional opportunity to rank in search engines. Create each heading in the form of a query or answer to the query including keywords. Also, always be consistent with all your headings.
Write the headings in a way that even if you remove all the text, your headings will only look like a list.
4. Image ALT Text
Using images is an important part of engaging audiences. You can get 94% more views by using graphics in your articles. Search engines do not understand what images are trying to convey. That is where the Alt tag comes into play.
The major goal of Alt text is web accessibility, and the SEO goal of Alt text is image indexing. Image Alt text helps users to understand the image when it cannot be viewed. When there is an image loading issue, the Alt text describes the image to the site visitors.
From the perspective of SEO, Alt text is an important part of how the images are indexed in Search Engines. If you include a visual component, be it the images of your products or stock images, you should use image alt texts.
Best Practices
You can use Website Auditor to crawl your website and compile a list of images with missing alt text.
After creating the list, apply these guidelines:
- Be concise but describe fully.
- Good alt text is a line or two descriptions about the image. It helps a visually impaired person to understand what is pictured.
- Don’t make it too concise. One or two words will not differentiate one image from the other. Use all possible properties displayed like- object color, type, material, shape, and finish to differentiate one image from the other.
- Never do keyword stuffing. Keyword stuffing does not work here, also like other places.
5. Schema Markup
Schema markup enhances SERP snippets with rich snippet features. Schema is a collection of tags developed together by Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex. Webmasters use these tags to provide extra information to search engines for better understanding. Search Engines use this information for enhancing SERP snippets with various rich features.
No one can say that using Schema markup will increase the chances of ranking. Since the resulting snippets look more attractive than the regular ones, this can improve website ranking in search.
Best Practices
The best thing one can do is to visit www.schema.org, select the tags suitable for your website. There are hundreds of Schema tags available. You have multiple options to improve your website listings.
6. Meta Robots Tag
The Meta robots tag establishes engagement between the website and search engines. Here website owners can set rules for crawling and indexing their pages. Some of the rules are more like suggestions, and some are obligatory. All crawlers will not respect robots’ Meta tags, but main search engines will. It must be placed in the head section of the page code and should specifically tell which crawlers it addresses.
Best Practices
- Improve code readability by using lowercase.
- Avoid using multiple meta tags, rather use multiple values in a single meta tag. For e.g: <meta name = “robots” content= “index, follow”>
- As restrictive values are considered first, never use multiple conflicting meta tags. For e.g:
<meta name=“robots” content=“follow”> and
<meta name=“robots” content=“nofollow”>, here only “nofollow” will be considered.
Conclusion:
Now that you know the important HTML tags, include them as best SEO practices. It will help search engines find your website when enquired by potential clients and give a better ranking as per searched keywords. If you are still not confident, do take advice from the SEO experts of the top SEO Company in India and boost your website ranking organically.
