The tags that matter
Most of what used to live in a page's head has no effect on search any more. A short list still does real work:
- `<title>` is the clickable headline in search results and the browser tab. It is the strongest on-page relevance signal you control.
- Meta description is the snippet under the title. It does not affect rankings, but a clear one earns clicks. Google rewrites it when it does not match the search.
- Canonical tells search engines which URL is the real one when the same page loads at several addresses (with tracking parameters, trailing slashes, http and https).
- Robots controls indexing. You only need it to say
noindexornofollow. The default is index, follow, so this tool leaves the tag out unless you change it. - Viewport makes the page render at phone width. Without it Google treats the page as not mobile friendly.
- Open Graph and X tags control the card when someone shares the link. Use the Open Graph generator for the full set and a preview.
The keywords meta tag is ignored by Google and Bing, so it is not offered here.
Writing a title that gets clicked
Lead with what the page is about in the words people search, then add your brand at the end: "Invoice API for Developers | Acme". Keep it under about 600 pixels, which is roughly 50 to 60 characters. Check the exact width with the title tag checker and see the full result in the SERP preview.
Writing a description
Say what the visitor gets and why it is worth the click, in 120 to 160 characters. Include the main phrase once, since Google bolds words that match the search. Every page should have its own description. Duplicates across pages are a common audit warning and get rewritten anyway.
After you publish
Run the live page through the meta tags checker to confirm the tags were deployed and that no plugin or template added a second, conflicting title or canonical.