Meta Tags: Definition and Analysis

By Chidiere Oluoma

                                                                                             Pch.vector (2020)

A meta tag is a brief  line of code that appears in the HTML code of a web page, typically located in the header section after the title tag and before the meta keywords tag. It is used to provide a summary of the content on the webpage. When working on improving a webpage's search engine ranking, it is generally considered good practice to include a meta description tag.

Prior to the change in search engine algorithms, the keywords included in a website's meta description tag could affect its ranking on a search results page. However, Google stated in 2009 that it no longer takes into account meta descriptions or keywords when determining a website's ranking. Despite this, the meta description may still be displayed on the search results page if Google cannot find relevant content on the page using the searched keywords. Contributor, T.T. (2012)

As a case study, I will cite, in this post, the homepage of the Subway (UK) e-commerce website, while analysing some of it's meta tags.

Subway (2023)


Above is the home page of Subway, a reputable and well-known e-commerce orgaization. Below, we will be analyzing some of its meta tags.



As seen in the image above, some meta tags present in the homepage of the Subway website are:

<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=Edge" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, minimum-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=yes" />
<meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#da532c" />
<meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="/Images/Core/favicons/mstile-144x144.png" />
<meta name="msapplication-config" content="/Images/Core/favicons/browserconfig.xml" />
<meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff" />
<meta property="og:title" content="" />
<meta property="og:description" content="" />

  • The "meta keyword" tag defines keywords for any search engine. It allows search engines to locate the webpage when those keywords are typed in search engines.
  • The "description tag shows the description of the webpage.
  • The "refresh" tag allows for the page to be constantly refeshed and remain up-to-date.
  • The "viewport" tag allows the webpage to look good on a wide range of devices.
  • The "theme-color" and other "color" meta tags describe what color the text or background preceeding it will take. (W3schools, 2023; Geeksforgeeks, 2022)












Reference List

         Contributor, T.T. (2012) What is meta description tag?: Definition from TechTarget, WhatIs.com. TechTarget. Available at: https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/meta-description-tag (Accessed: January 22, 2023).

         Geeksforgeeks (2022) Explain use of meta tags in HTML, GeeksforGeeks. GeeksforGeeks. Available at: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/explain-use-of-meta-tags-in-html/ (Accessed: January 25, 2023).

         Pch.vector (2020) Free vector: Tiny Developers Programming website for internet platform flat vector illustration. Cartoon programmers near screen with open code or script. software development and digital technology concept, Freepik. Available at: https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/tiny-developers-programming-website-internet-platform-flat-vector-illustration-cartoon-programmers-near-screen-with-open-code-script-software-development-digital-technology-concept_10613714.htm#query=code&position=21&from_view=search&track=sph (Accessed: January 22, 2023).

         Subway (2023) Home. Available at: https://www.subway.com/en-GB (Accessed: January 24, 2023).

         W3schools (2023) HTML tag, HTML meta tag. Available at: https://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_meta.asp (Accessed: January 24, 2023).

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