Search engine optimization is a very important factor in internet marketing probably because it influences directly or indirectly the success of the website. Perhaps one of the reasons why HTML is very popular as web design language is because it is SEO friendly.

Meta tags are the commands or directives used in HTML to enhance search engine optimization. They are not usually visible on the page displayed by a browser; instead, only the title rag contents are seen. They serve the important function of availing information about the contents of a web page to search engines and also to browsers. Their importance in SEO is based on the fact that the Meta tag description is used by search engines to determine the relevance of a page when a visitor types in a query related to your web content. The description of the Meta tag gives an overview of the site content and as such should be as precise as possible if traffic is to come onto the way of the website being described by the Meta tag.

Meta tags are usually located just after the head and before the start of the body. The use of Meta tags is really not compulsory for every other website nor does it mean that websites without Meta tags do not have traffic. However, Meta tags have some recognized benefits which you would not want to do without; after all, you lose nothing by using them, if anything you stand to gain. SEO experts recommend the use of approximately three Meta tags on your site.

There are some common Meta tags that are likely to be found in every other website that uses them. One of the most common Meta tags is the title tag. This is usually the first Meta tag used in any web page and also the first one to be displayed in a browser. The contents of the title which should be as brief and concise as possible should be placed between the title Meta tags. The number of characters to be included in this Meta tag varies from search engine to search engine but the average is between 40 and 80.

The description Meta tag is another common tag whose importance cannot be over emphasized. This Meta tag offers a brief description of what your site is involved in. the more concise it is, the better as visitors will be able to know what your site is all about at a glance. Equally important is the keywords Meta tag which is specifically for search engines and directories. It is the Meta tag that determines the ranking of your site in search engines and as such should be very efficient. The keywords that you choose should have enough traffic and be easily conversable.

Other Meta tags that feature in a site are for example the Index Meta tag that informs the search engine on whether or not to index a site and author and language Meta tags that give information on the site author as well as site language respectively.