Tags have always been prominent in on-page SEO tactics—including title tags, meta tags, header tags and blog post tags, all of which are known to increase depth of key terms and phrases in appropriate places. Tags are used to classify content, making it easier for the reader and search engines to understand the overall content of each page on a website.
Are tags still important for SEO in 2016?
On-page optimization is still crucial, and tags still play a big role in this. Though, keyword meta tags are considered useless as far as search engine optimization goes, there are other tag types that should absolutely be implemented in your SEO strategy.
Title Tags
Search engines use page title tags to understand the unique topic of each page, and, most importantly, title tags are displayed in the search engine results pages, or SERPs. Before anyone actually clicks through to your website, it’s the title tag that tells a reader what to expect and how relevant the result is to their initial search query. As Google shifts towards semantic search, keyword optimized title tags remain important. Search engines compare each page title tag to the other content on your page to ensure consistency when indexing and ranking.
Header Tags
A header tag is the HTML markup used to differentiate headings and subheadings from regular text within your webpages. In 2016, header tags are considered more important than before! Carefully choosing header tags in your blog posts and other pages can lead to an increase in SERP position and better rankings overall. Using multiple header tags is still appropriate, but overuse is frowned upon—as with all things SEO!
Blog Post Tags
Contextual tags that are added to blog posts can be valuable to both the user and search engine. For visitors, it helps them identify post topics and find articles that answer their questions. Search engines use blog post tags to easily interpret page content, aiding your search ranking. These tags can improve SEO because Google continues to stay focused on user intent and content quality.
SEO trends do evolve over time, but not as frequently as Google’s algorithmic updates. Staying up to date is crucial to your site rankings and utilization of tags may be a bit more important this year.
At Liqui-Site, search engine optimization is our passion and expertise, as it underscores our web work. Questions? Comment below, schedule a consultation, or call us at 845-35
Colleen Pagnani
Digital & Operations Coordinator, Liqui-Site
An integral member of the Liqui-Site team since 2015, Colleen handles content research and development, reporting, and assists with both operational and new business development initiatives.
