A meta robots tag is a small piece of code used on a webpage to give instructions to search engines, like Google, on how they should handle the page. It tells the search engine whether to index the page (include it in search results) or not, and whether to follow the links on the page or not.
The tag is placed in the <head> section of the webpage’s HTML.
Why is it Important?
Meta robots tags are important for website owners because they control how a webpage appears in search engines. This can affect how people find the page, and what other parts of the site are accessible through links on that page.
By using a meta robots tag, website owners can ensure that search engines treat the page the way they want.
Key Directives You Can Use
The most common instructions, or directives, that you can use with the meta robots tag include:
- index: This tells the search engine to include the page in its search results.
- noindex: This tells the search engine not to include the page in search results.
- follow: This tells the search engine to follow all links on the page.
- nofollow: This tells the search engine not to follow any links on the page.
You can mix these directives depending on what you want. For example:
index, follow: The page can be indexed, and search engines will follow the links.noindex, nofollow: The page will not be indexed, and links will not be followed.
How to Add a Meta Robots Tag
To use a meta robots tag on your page, you need to add a line of code to the <head> section of the HTML. Here’s an example:
<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow"
This example tells the search engine not to include the page in its results and not to follow any links on the page.
When Should You Use Meta Robots Tags?
There are several situations when you might want to use a meta robots tag:
1. Prevent a page from being indexed: If you have a page that isn’t important for search engines, like a thank you page or admin section.
2. Block search engines from following links: If there are links on your page that you don’t want to pass any SEO value, for example, affiliate links.
3. Test a page before making it public: You can use the noindex tag to keep it out of search results while you work on it.