12 SEO HTML Tags You Need to Know

HTML tags are pieces of codification you adhd to webpages to supply discourse to hunt engines. They assistance hunt engines find what your tract is about. 

HTML stands for hypertext markup language. It’s the connection utilized by websites. 

Tags are besides utilized to operation content. And specify however it should beryllium displayed successful a web browser. They’re adjuvant for hunt engines. And humans. 

HTML tags are enclosed successful space brackets ( < > ) and typically travel successful pairs—an opening tag and a closing tag. The opening tag indicates the opening of an element. While the closing tag indicates the extremity of the element.

For example, here’s what a meta statement tag looks similar successful the root code:

And here’s what a meta statement looks similar connected Google:

A rubric tag tells hunt engines that a circumstantial operation is the rubric of the page. 

Here’s what it looks similar successful the root code:

And here’s what it looks similar to web visitors: 

Why Are HTML Tags Important for SEO?

HTML tags are beneficial to your website. And visitors. Here's how:

Structure

HTML tags assistance you signifier and format your content.

This includes: 

• Headings
• Paragraphs
• Lists
• Tables

Search engines tin amended construe and scale your contented with HTML tags.

Understanding

HTML SEO tags supply discourse to hunt engines astir the intent of antithetic elements connected your page. 

By utilizing applicable tags similar <title>, <meta>, and <alt>, you assistance hunt engines recognize the taxable and intent of your content.

Readability

HTML tags operation contented visually for web visitors and hunt engines. Clear headings, slug points, and well-formatted substance marque your pages easier to read. And assistance support users engaged.

Keyword Optimization

HTML tags let you to specify important keywords and phrases related to your content. Search engines tin usage these keywords to find the relevance of your leafage to circumstantial hunt queries.

Let’s sermon the astir important HTML tags for SEO. And idiosyncratic experience.

1. Title Tags <title>

A title tag is an HTML constituent utilized to specify a webpage's title. It’s displayed connected hunt motor results pages (SERPs) arsenic a clickable link.

Title tags are important for idiosyncratic acquisition and SEO. They supply a concise statement of the page. So searchers cognize what to expect erstwhile they click through. And assistance hunt engines recognize the content.

Here’s what a rubric tag looks similar successful the SERP arsenic a clickable link:

The tag is besides displayed successful the user’s browser tab.

To adhd a rubric tag, usage the property <title> successful your HTML builder.

Add an opening <title> tag earlier the substance you privation to amusement arsenic your title. And a closing </title> tag astatine the extremity of it.

Your contented absorption strategy (CMS)—like WordPress oregon HubSpot—might automatically make your <title> tag erstwhile you adhd a rubric to your webpage.

Title Tag Best Practices

• Keep it concise: Aim for 50–60 characters. If your rubric exceeds this range, it could beryllium chopped disconnected successful hunt results. As Google tin lone show up to 600 pixels (or astir 60 characters).
• Don’t duplicate rubric tags: Make each rubric unsocial to assistance hunt engines find the page’s purpose 
• Use the main keyword: Include your primary keyword (the main word you’re targeting for the page) to bespeak the content’s topic
• Analyze the SERP: Do a Google hunt for the taxable of your content. Look astatine the titles that look for high-ranking pages and the keywords those titles use. This volition springiness you an thought of the keywords you should besides usage to assistance your contented rank.
• Be consistent: A rubric tag should beryllium the aforesaid oregon akin to the page’s H1. Both elements assistance hunt engines recognize the main topic.
• Front-load cardinal terms: Use the astir important words astatine the opening of the title. So it’s casual for searchers to find what they’re looking for.

A meta description is different HTML meta tag for SEO. It’s a abbreviated statement of your webpage that tin beryllium displayed connected hunt engines. And immoderate societal media previews.

Meta descriptions are tags that supply a little mentation of the contented of a page. They often look beneath the rubric tag connected SERPs.

While meta descriptions aren’t a ranking factor, they tin interaction your click-through complaint (CTR). And bring radical to your site. An enticing meta statement tin summation the likelihood of users clicking connected your link.

Tools similar Yoast and Rank Math marque it casual to adhd meta descriptions without having to update the HTML.

A meta statement codification snippet looks similar this successful the HTML:

<meta name="description" content="Learn how to develop a tone of voice for your brand and use our template to get started.">

The name=”description” constituent signifies the benignant of metadata you’re providing (a description).

The content=” constituent is wherever you adhd a statement of what your webpage is astir (inside the 2nd brace of quotation marks).

This is what a meta statement looks similar connected hunt engines:

Meta Description Best Practices

By penning a meta statement that intrigues the searcher, you whitethorn get much postulation to the page. Improving the CTR.

Here are immoderate champion practices:

• Describe what your contented is about. So searchers cognize what to expect erstwhile they click done to your site.
• Aim for a concise statement of nether 155 characters. Longer meta descriptions whitethorn get chopped disconnected successful the SERP. If you optimize for mobile, instrumentality to astir 105. 
• Include your superior keyword
• Use a plugin similar Yoast oregon Rank Math to assistance you travel champion practices for quality length. And keyword usage.

Yoast’s plugin looks similar this: 

Header tags, similar <h1>, <h2>, and <h3>, assistance you specify each heading and subheading connected a page. And assistance you operation contented connected each types of pages. Including your homepage, work pages, merchandise pages, blog posts, and more. To marque it easier for visitors to work and understand. 

They besides assistance hunt engines recognize the hierarchy and discourse of the content.

The larger the heading size (H1 > H2), the much important it is to see a keyword oregon descriptive phrase. 

Since headings person the imaginable to beryllium much important than plain substance (they assistance bespeak leafage structure), you should optimize them with keywords erstwhile possible.

In HTML markup, the pursuing header tags are common:

• Heading 1 <h1>: Main heading/title of the page
• Heading 2 <h2>: Secondary heading
• Heading 3 <h3>: Subheading of an <h2>
• Heading 4 <h4>: Subheading of an <h3>
• Heading 5 <h5>: Subheading of an <h4>
• Heading 6 <h6>: Subheading of an <h5>

For example, H1 tags archer hunt engines what a page's main taxable is. And signifier the contented clearly. They besides amusement visitors that the leafage has the accusation they're looking for.

Here’s what an H1 looks similar successful HTML:

And here’s what it looks similar to a visitor:

To adhd a heading 1 tag successful the HTML, you’d usage the opening <h1> astatine the beforehand of the heading. And a closing </h1> astatine the end.

Many CMS automatically make an H1 from your webpage title. And let you to easy prime headers (like H2s, H3s, and H4s) from the exertion without having to update the HTML.

H2s present each superior conception connected a webpage oregon blog post.

H3s travel aft H2s. Use them to signifier contented underneath an H2. And amended readability. 

H3s look smaller successful substance size. Indicating subsections wrong your H2.

In a CMS similar WordPress, usage the exertion to take header tags.

4. Image Alt Text <img>

Alt text, oregon alternate text, is simply a statement that corresponds to an image. If the representation won't load, the substance displays successful spot of it. The substance is besides adjuvant for those who usage surface readers.

Here’s an illustration of an representation HTML tag:

<img src="https://example.com/.pixel-7-pro-camera-barjpg" alt="The back of the Pixel 7 Pro showing the aluminum camera bar">

“Img src” indicates the representation source. And (alt) indicates the image's alt text.

Here’s what alt substance looks similar erstwhile an representation fails to load:

Image alt substance is important for SEO due to the fact that it provides hunt engines with accusation astir the image's content. Which tin assistance amended the page's relevance.

Optimizing your images tin besides thrust postulation and amended your chances of ranking.

Every representation you adhd to your website is an accidental to strategically adhd keywords and phrases. Further optimizing your contented for hunt engines.

In galore CMS, you tin use alt substance without utilizing an HTML editor.

A canonical tag allows you to specify the preferred mentation of a leafage erstwhile aggregate versions of the aforesaid leafage exist.

For example, let’s accidental you run an ecommerce site. Each colour variant of the aforesaid merchandise has a unsocial URL. But the contented is the aforesaid connected each page. Use canonical tags to bespeak which URL you similar Google to index.

Canonical tags are important for SEO due to the fact that they assistance forestall duplicate contented issues. Which whitethorn negatively interaction rankings. Search engines tin recognize which mentation of a leafage to scale and show successful hunt results.

These tags archer hunt engines which leafage mentation (known arsenic the “canonical URL”) it should index. As a result, repetitive contented won’t show successful hunt results. And immoderate page authority volition spell to the canonical URL you designated.

To adhd a canonical tag, usage the codification snippet: 

<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/preferred-url-here/" />

A canonical tag has respective attributes:

• “link”: Defines the narration betwixt 1 URL and another
• rel="canonical": Indicates the benignant of relationship
• href="URL": Confirms the circumstantial URL of the archetypal content

In immoderate CMS, similar Versoly shown below, you tin adhd a canonical URL without accessing the HTML editor.

Search engines mightiness scale the incorrect leafage if you don’t usage a canonical tag. This means you mightiness not fertile arsenic highly arsenic you could for your preferred page.

6. Robots Meta Tag <meta robots>

You mightiness not privation hunt engines to scale each leafage of your site. Combining robots meta tags with directives similar “noindex” oregon “nofollow” helps hunt engines crawl and scale your tract optimally.

A robots meta tag is simply a page-level tag that tells hunt engines and website crawlers however to crawl your site.

Use the robots meta tag to specify whether a leafage should beryllium indexed by hunt engines. And whether links connected the leafage should beryllium followed.

Common pages wherever you mightiness see this tag include:

• Admin oregon login pages
• Confirmation pages. Such arsenic convey you pages.
• Internal hunt effect pages 
• Pages from your staging site
• Pages with duplicate content
• Pay-per-click (PPC) landing pages

As an example, you mightiness see the pursuing codification snippet successful your HTML header if you don’t privation hunt engines to scale a page:

<meta name="robots" content="noindex">

The 2 attributes are “name” and “content.”

• Name: Indicates the benignant of metadata being defined (robots)
• Content: The acquisition fixed (no index)

You tin besides usage aggregate instructions wrong the contented attribute. Such arsenic noindex, nofollow, and noimageindex, among others. Use a comma to abstracted each one.

Here’s an illustration of utilizing aggregate instructions:

<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">

The noindex directive tells hunt engines not to see the leafage successful hunt results. The nofollow directive tells crawlers not to travel the links connected the page.

7. Schema Markup

Schema markup is simply a benignant of structured information you tin adhd to the root of a leafage to assistance hunt engines recognize the content. 

Site owners often usage this information to supply further accusation astir the page. Such arsenic merchandise details, reviews, ratings, and overmuch more.

Here’s an illustration of markup connected the Semrush homepage:

While schema markup isn’t technically an HTML tag, it’s inactive valuable. It tin assistance amended the visibility and relevance of your leafage successful hunt results. So it stands retired with rich snippets.

Common affluent snippet formats see but aren’t constricted to:

• Product markup
• FAQs
• Reviews
• Recipes
• Movies
• Events

No substance your concern type, utilizing markup tin heighten your content's quality successful the SERP and amended your click-through rate. People are much apt to announcement and click connected the listing.

Let’s accidental you run a bakery, and your website has a conception for recipes. By adding schema markup for a look page, the hunt results for your look pages tin show otherwise than modular integrated listings. In the markup, you tin see details similar ingredients, prep time, and navigator time.

Here’s what affluent snippets for recipes look like:

Use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to adhd schema markup.

Open the tool. Select the snippet benignant you privation to create, and participate your leafage URL. Then, click “Start Tagging.” 

For this example, we’ll make product-structured information markup. 

The instrumentality volition populate the webpage’s URL into the “Tag Data” view:

This illustration is simply a merchandise snippet for MacBook Pro. So, we’ll see elements similar the product’s name, price, image, brand, logo, etc.

Choose oregon item leafage elements, and the instrumentality volition inquire you to tag them.

For example, to adhd the product’s name, item it and tag it with “Name.”

If you wanted to adhd the price, you would item and prime the “Price” tag:

As you work, the instrumentality adds each the accusation to the right-side panel. 

Tag arsenic galore elements arsenic you can.

Then, click the reddish "Create HTML" fastener astatine the top-right of the screen. 

The instrumentality volition make a structured information markup codification successful the broadside panel.

Finally, transcript oregon download the codification and adhd it to your page's <head> section.

That’s it. You successfully added schema markup.

8. Table <table>

A array tag is an HTML constituent utilized to make tables connected webpages.

While adding tables to your contented whitethorn not dependable similar a emblematic SEO tactic, you tin usage them to signifier and show information successful a structured format. This tin heighten the look and consciousness of your content. Making it easier to read. 

Use array tags to make rows and columns (tables) wrong your contented to contiguous information successful a structured and visually appealing manner. 

For example, this Sizely table displays overgarment sizes by country. Which is adjuvant for shoppers.

Tables person the imaginable to look arsenic featured snippets successful Google arsenic well. Which tin gully attention. And make much website clicks.

If your CMS supports copying and pasting tables from different bundle similar Google Docs oregon Microsoft Word, you whitethorn not request to interest astir creating circumstantial tags astir your copy.

The cardinal array tags to enactment are:

• <table>: Denotes the commencement of a table
• <tr>: Defines a array row
• <td>: Defines a compartment successful a table
• <th>: Defines a array header cell
• <td>: Defines information cells for the archetypal row

An illustration of this mightiness look like:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Header 1</th>
<th>Header 2</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Data 1</td>
<td>Data 2</td>
</tr>
</table>

In the illustration above, we did the following:

• Started a array utilizing <table>
• Defined a enactment utilizing <tr>
• Added a array header utilizing <th> astir header 1
• Added a array header utilizing <th> astir header 2
• Added information cells astir information successful our CMS
• Define a enactment utilizing <tr>
• Ended the array utilizing <table>

The output volition look antithetic per CMS. Depending connected whether you use themes oregon customized formatting.

9. Iframe <iframe>

An iframe (or inline frame) is an HTML constituent that lets you embed an HTML papers wrong a page. It's similar a tiny model connected your leafage displaying contented from different place.

Scenarios wherever you mightiness usage an iframe tin include:

• Embedding multimedia elements. Such arsenic videos, audio files, and animations from platforms similar YouTube oregon SoundCloud.
• Embedding documents. Like a PDF.
• Integrating a third-party application. Such arsenic a Google Maps widget.
• Loading contented from outer sources. Including societal media posts from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Your basal codification snippet looks similar this:

<iframe src="https://example.com"></iframe>

For example, utilizing an iframe to embed a YouTube video volition show the media similar this:

In a CMS similar WordPress, you volition person an embed/import fastener that allows you to adhd an outer constituent utilizing a URL. Rather than fetching and creating code. 

For example, you tin adhd the YouTube video URL alternatively of creating iframe code. 

While iframes tin amended the idiosyncratic experience, determination are besides cons for SEO:

• Loading an iframe means loading 2 sites simultaneously. Which tin dilatory down your page. Page velocity is simply a Google ranking factor.
• Iframes tin beryllium a information hazard if the embedded contented is from an untrusted source. A malicious iframe could inject harmful codification connected your site.
• Search engines dainty iframe contented arsenic belonging to different website. Which means it doesn’t straight payment your rankings.

We urge the pursuing champion practices for integrating outer content:

• Use iframes lone for circumstantial purposes that enactment the content. Such arsenic embedding a representation connected your determination page.
• Ensure the embedded contented is relevant. And enhances idiosyncratic experience.
• Optimize leafage load times by avoiding unnecessary iframes. When you do usage an iframe, optimize the leafage for velocity to offset immoderate load-time resistance the iframe causes.
• Only integrate contented from trusted sources to minimize information risks

10. List Tag <li>

Did you spot the fig of lists utilized successful this blog post?

A database tag turns substance into a list. Use these tags to signifier information. 

When readers scan your content, they are improbable to work each word. Lists marque cardinal points skimmable. And easier to read.

Well-formatted lists whitethorn besides assistance with SEO. 

Google shows featured snippets when it decides it provides the champion idiosyncratic experience. One benignant of featured snippet is simply a list. Google whitethorn propulsion these from your contented if it thinks you person the champion database to enactment a searcher’s query. 

Here’s what a database looks similar successful HTML:

And here’s what it looks similar to a visitor:

If your CMS supports transcript and pasting from papers instauration tools (Word, Google Docs, Notion, etc.), tags get applied automatically.

Before creating a database utilizing HTML, take if you privation the database to beryllium ordered oregon unordered.

• Ordered: Items displayed with corresponding numbers
• Unordered: Items displayed successful immoderate order

When penning instructions oregon a recipe, take ordered since the idiosyncratic needs to execute the database items successful a circumstantial order.

The database tin beryllium unordered if the database items don't request to beryllium executed successful succession. An illustration would beryllium a database of look ingredients. 

For an ordered list, usage the tag <ol> earlier and the tag </ol> aft your database tags. 

Inside the <ol> tags, see your database items and situation them with <li> tags successful your HTML editor.

Your database volition look similar this successful HTML:

<ol>
<li>First item</li>
<li>Second item</li>
<li>Third item</li>
</ol>

When published connected your site, your database volition look similar this:

1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item

For unordered, usage the tag <ul> to precede and win your database tags and situation them with <li> tags successful your HTML editor.

Your database volition look similar this successful HTML:

<ul>
<li>Oranges</li>
<li>Sugar</li>
<li>Water</li>
</ul>

When published, your database volition look similar this:

• Oranges
• Sugar
• Water

11. Hyperlinks <a>

Hyperlinks, often referred to simply arsenic “links,” are HTML elements that nexus 1 leafage to another. You tin usage hyperlinks to assistance users navigate betwixt pages connected the aforesaid website. Or you tin nexus to different websites.

Hyperlinks are important for SEO due to the fact that they assistance hunt engines observe and scale your content. They besides assistance hunt engines recognize the relationships betwixt antithetic pages.

Hyperlink HTML codification is made up of:

• <a>: Anchor tag to denote the opening of a redirect
• href= "Https://www.exampleurl.com">: wherever you’re redirecting the substance oregon image
• Anchor text: Add the substance displayed to your visitant (usually existing copy)
• </a>: adjacent the tag

When combined, your hyperlink HTML codification volition look thing similar this:

On your published page, a hyperlink looks similar this:

If you copied linked substance from Google Docs oregon Word, for example, the nexus whitethorn travel the substance erstwhile you paste it determination else.

You tin besides usage hyperlinks for internal linking. An interior nexus is simply a hyperlink that directs a tract visitant to different leafage connected your website.

Add interior links to immoderate of your pages. Like your “money pages.” Including interaction forms, escaped trials, and demo requests.

Add a telephone to enactment (CTA) to promote the idiosyncratic to prosecute further. Like "Sign up for your escaped proceedings here."

Personalizing for antithetic audiences is important for generating engagement from platforms different than hunt engines.

Open graph tags power however you contiguous webpages connected societal media.

Every blog station you constitute volition apt get shared connected societal media. Why not boost its show truthful it’s much apt to get a click?

Add a caller image, title, oregon statement to promote antithetic societal level audiences to click connected your content.

You whitethorn privation a webpage to show otherwise connected hunt engines than it does connected Twitter, Facebook, oregon LinkedIn to get much clicks from circumstantial audiences.

So, portion your webpage whitethorn look similar this connected hunt engines and your website:

It tin besides look similar this connected societal media. (Note the antithetic title.)

Your CMS whitethorn person the enactment to adhd an Open Graph rubric without the request to edit HTML code.

If not, adhd the pursuing illustration HTML codification to make alternate titles, images, and descriptions erstwhile sharing contented connected societal media.

<meta property="og:title" content="Insert Your Title Here">

The main attributes successful play present are:

• og:title: Shows a antithetic rubric than the archetypal content
• og:image: Shows a antithetic representation than the archetypal content
• og:description: Shows a antithetic preview statement than the archetypal content

Implementing HTML Tags for SEO

You mightiness beryllium utilizing HTML tags without adjacent realizing it. Many CMS automatically use these tags to your pages.

Follow these champion practices to usage HTML tags properly: 

• Use rubric tags to pass hunt engines and users what the main taxable of the contented is
• Use an H1 header tag to classify the main heading of the page
• Use H2 and H3 header tags to classify and operation subheadings
• Ensure each leafage has a meta statement tag that includes your people keyphrase
• Add descriptive alt substance for important images that enactment the content

Here’s an illustration of strategically utilizing a keyword successful alt text. 

Tools and Resources for SEO Tag Optimization

Using HTML tags is large for SEO, but the process tin instrumentality clip without the close tools. 

• Google Tag Manager (GTM): GTM enables the absorption and deployment of assorted tags connected a website without the request for nonstop codification modifications
• W3Schools HTML online editor: W3Schools provides an online codification editor wherever you tin constitute and signifier HTML. It's large for experimenting with codification snippets and testing.
• Schema markup generators: Free tools, specified arsenic Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper, volition make markup based connected your input
• SEO plugins: Popular plugins, similar Yoast SEO, connection meta tag generators

Analyze your tags for optimal interaction with Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker. 

When you’ve completed the setup, you’ll spot a dashboard overview similar this:

To find opportunities to optimize tags, click connected the “Optimization Ideas” tab. The instrumentality volition contiguous ideas for optimizing tract pages.

To presumption leafage recommendations, click connected the bluish “# ideas” fastener successful the “All Ideas” column.

Scroll to the contented section. Which evaluates the beingness of keywords successful your tags. It besides alerts you if it detects keyword stuffing. 

And provides suggestions for fixing tag issues. For example, it mightiness urge penning a much applicable rubric tag.

Common Mistakes to Avoid successful SEO Tag Implementation

While HTML tags are adjuvant for SEO, determination are inactive pitfalls to avoid. Here are immoderate strategies to guarantee your efforts don’t hinder your hunt rankings.

Overusing Tags oregon Keyword Stuffing

Excessive usage of HTML tags—such arsenic aggregate rubric oregon meta statement tags—can harm your SEO efforts. Stuffing keywords successful HTML tags is besides not recommended. Both cases tin marque your tract look spammy. And could adjacent crook visitors away.

Solution: Use tags erstwhile due to heighten your content. Prioritize readability and relevance implicit excessive keyword use. 

Poorly Optimized Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Forgetting HTML meta tags for SEO is common. Some CMS volition make them automatically—such arsenic rubric tags—but you inactive request to optimize them for your brand. And people keywords. 

Solution: Write descriptive, keyword-rich rubric tags that convey the page’s content. Similarly, constitute keyword-rich meta descriptions that entice radical to click.

Header tags signifier contented hierarchically. Ignoring oregon forgetting them tin forestall hunt engines from knowing the page's structure.

Solution: Use header tags to signifier the page's structure.

Using HTML tags tin assistance your website fertile higher, make much clicks, and amended your content’s readability.

By pursuing the champion practices successful this guide, you tin usage HTML tags passim your tract to connection a bully acquisition to some users and hunt engines.

Assess if your tract uses HTML tags decently with the Semrush SEO Audit tool. And get a implicit representation of your site’s health.