Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves multiple technical elements that influence how search engines interpret and rank web pages.
One of these critical elements is meta robots. What is meta robots in SEO? This tag plays a significant role in directing search engines on how they should crawl and index your website’s content.
If you are looking to understand what is meta robots in SEO, GetFound will break down the definition of meta robots and explain its function in optimizing website visibility, let’s jump right in.
What Is Meta Robots in SEO?
Meta robots is an HTML tag used to instruct search engines on how to interact with a specific webpage. This tag is placed in the <head> section of a webpage’s HTML code and tells search engine crawlers whether they should index the page or follow its links.
Unlike other meta tags that provide information about content, meta robots specifically control search engine behavior. This ensures that search engines process your site correctly based on the instructions given.
Functions of Meta Robots
After knowing what is meta robots in SEO, it’s also important to understand the function of meta robots. The meta robots tag has multiple functions that guide search engines when crawling a website.
Below are the key functions that this tag provides:
1. Controlling Indexing of Web Pages
Meta robots help website owners specify whether a particular page should appear in search engine results. If a page contains important content, it should be indexed so users can find it.
However, some pages, like duplicate content, admin pages, or thank-you pages, may not need to be indexed.
For example, if you want search engines to include your page in search results, you should allow indexing. On the other hand, if you have a confidential page or a page with duplicate content, you should prevent indexing.
2. Managing Link Crawling Behavior
Search engines can follow links on a page to discover new content. The meta robots tag can instruct search engines whether they should follow or ignore these links.
If you want search engines to discover and index the pages linked from your site, you should allow them to follow the links.
However, if the links on a page are not important for SEO, such as user-generated links in comments, you can prevent search engines from following them.
3. Combining Multiple Directives
Meta robots allow multiple directives in a single tag to provide more precise instructions. These directives can be combined to control indexing and link-following behavior at the same time.
For instance, if you want your page to be indexed but don’t want search engines to follow the links on it, you can allow indexing while preventing link crawling.
Conversely, if you don’t want your page to appear in search results and don’t want search engines to follow its links, you can disable both indexing and link crawling.
Also Read: 8 Clever Ways You Can Optimize Subdomain for the SEO Benefit!
4. Preventing Content from Being Cached
Search engines sometimes store cached versions of web pages to improve loading speed and provide backup versions.
If you want to prevent your page from being cached, the meta robots tag can be used to instruct search engines not to store a cached copy.
This is particularly useful for websites that frequently update content or contain sensitive information that should always be accessed in real-time instead of through a cached version.
5. Preventing Search Snippets from Appearing
Search engines display meta descriptions or other snippets in search results to provide users with a preview of the page’s content. Understanding what is meta robots in SEO allows you to control how your content appears in search results.
If you do not want a snippet to appear, the meta robots tag can be used to block search engines from displaying descriptions for that page.
For example, if your page contains sensitive information or exclusive content that should not be shown in search previews, you can prevent search engines from generating snippets.
6. Controlling Image Indexing
Just like web pages, images can also be indexed by search engines. The meta robots tag can control whether search engines should include images from a webpage in search results.
For instance, if you have copyrighted images or private visuals that you do not want to appear in Google Image Search, you can prevent search engines from indexing them.
7. Preventing Translation and Cached Copy Links
Google and other search engines sometimes provide automatic translation options and cached links for webpages. If you want to prevent search engines from offering a translation of your page, you can use meta robots to block this function.
This is useful for businesses that want to maintain control over how their content is translated or for websites that need to restrict access to older versions of their pages.
Optimize Your SEO Strategy with GetFound Now!
Understanding what is meta robots in SEO and how it functions is crucial for managing how search engines interact with your site. By using the correct directives, you can control indexing, manage link crawling, and optimize your content for search engines.
If you need expert assistance in implementing meta robots and other SEO strategies, GetFound is here to help. We provide tailored solutions to enhance your website’s search visibility and ranking.
Consult with GetFound today to take your SEO to the next level!
