Metadata is “data about data.” It is information that describes other information, such as the title, author, date created, and keywords associated with a document or file. Metadata can also include information about a file’s use, such as file size, resolution, and format.
In the web context, metadata is information that is added to the HTML or XML code of a web page that provides information about the page to search engines, browsers, and other web applications.
Metadata that can be added to web pages include:
<title>: The title of the web page is displayed in the browser’s title bar or as the webpage’s title in search engine results.
<meta>: A tag that can provide additional information about the web page, such as a description, keywords, author, and other information.
<link>: A tag that can be used to link to other resources, such as CSS stylesheets and RSS feeds.
<meta name=”robots” content=” index, nofollow”>: A tag that can be used to tell search engines not to index a web page or follow its links.
<meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1″>: A tag that can be used to control how a web page is displayed on mobile devices.
Metadata is important because it helps search engines and other web applications understand the content and context of a web page. It can be used to improve the visibility of a web page in search engine results. It can also provide additional information to users, such as the document’s author or the date it was last modified.
Also, See: Headless Website