Meta tags are essential HTML elements placed in the [head] section of a webpage to provide metadata that helps search engines, browsers, and other web services understand and index the page effectively. Here’s a breakdown:
Types of Meta Tags:
Title Tag: Defines the page title, displayed in search results and browser tabs (e.g., {title}Page Title{/title}).
Description Tag: Offers a brief summary of the page content, often used in search engine snippets (e.g., {meta name=”description” content=”A concise overview of the topic”}).
Keywords Tag: Lists relevant keywords for SEO, though less emphasized by modern search engines (e.g., {meta name=”keywords” content=”keyword1, keyword2″}).
Author Tag: Specifies the content creator (e.g., {meta name=”author” content=”Your Name”}).
Viewport Tag: Controls how the page renders on different devices, especially mobile (e.g., {meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1″}).
Robots Tag: Instructs search engine crawlers on indexing behavior (e.g., {meta name=”robots” content=”noindex, nofollow”}).
Importance:
Enhance SEO by improving how search engines interpret and rank pages.
Support social media sharing with Open Graph or Twitter Cards tags (e.g., {meta property=”og:title” content=”Page Title”}).
Ensure proper rendering and accessibility across browsers and devices.
Best Practices:
Keep descriptions under 160 characters for optimal display.
Use unique meta tags for each page to avoid duplication.
Regularly update tags to reflect content changes and align with SEO strategies.
By optimizing meta tags, web developers can boost visibility, user experience, and overall site performance.
Table of contents
- Part 1: OnlineExamMaker AI quiz maker – Make a free quiz in minutes
- Part 2: 20 meta tags quiz questions & answers
- Part 3: Automatically generate quiz questions using AI Question Generator
Part 1: OnlineExamMaker AI quiz maker – Make a free quiz in minutes
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Part 2: 20 meta tags quiz questions & answers
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Question 1: What is the primary purpose of the meta description tag in HTML?
A) To define the document’s character encoding
B) To provide a summary of the page’s content for search engine results
C) To specify keywords for search engine indexing
D) To control how the page is displayed on mobile devices
Answer: B
Explanation: The meta description tag is used to give a brief summary of the page’s content, which search engines may display in search results to improve click-through rates, although it’s not a direct ranking factor.
Question 2: Which of the following is the correct syntax for a basic meta tag?
A) {meta name=”description” content=”Page summary”}
B) {meta description=”Page summary”}
C) {meta tag name=”description” content=”Page summary”}
D) {tag meta name=”description” content=”Page summary”}
Answer: A
Explanation: The correct syntax uses the {meta} element with attributes like name and content, as in {meta name=”description” content=”Page summary”}, which follows HTML standards.
Question 3: What does the meta viewport tag primarily control?
A) The page’s keywords for SEO
B) How the page is scaled and displayed on different devices, especially mobile
C) The page’s refresh rate
D) The author’s information
Answer: B
Explanation: The meta viewport tag, such as {meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1″}, allows web pages to be rendered properly on various screen sizes by controlling zoom and layout.
Question 4: In SEO, which meta tag is often used to suggest keywords to search engines?
A) Meta description
B) Meta keywords
C) Meta robots
D) Meta charset
Answer: B
Explanation: The meta keywords tag was historically used to list relevant keywords, though modern search engines like Google largely ignore it for ranking purposes and rely more on page content.
Question 5: What is the main function of the meta charset tag?
A) To define the page’s title
B) To specify the character encoding, such as UTF-8
C) To control page indexing by search engines
D) To add social media metadata
Answer: B
Explanation: The meta charset tag, like {meta charset=”UTF-8″}, declares the character encoding for the HTML document, ensuring proper display of text and symbols across different languages.
Question 6: Which meta tag is used to instruct search engines not to index a page?
A) Meta description
B) Meta robots with content=”noindex”
C) Meta viewport
D) Meta keywords
Answer: B
Explanation: The meta robots tag with content=”noindex” tells search engines like Google not to include the page in their search results, which is useful for private or duplicate content.
Question 7: How does the meta refresh tag work?
A) It automatically redirects or reloads the page after a specified time
B) It sets the page’s keywords
C) It defines the page’s author
D) It controls mobile responsiveness
Answer: A
Explanation: The meta refresh tag, such as {meta http-equiv=”refresh” content=”5;url=newpage.html”}, can redirect users to another URL after a set number of seconds, though it’s not recommended for SEO due to potential penalties.
Question 8: What is the recommended maximum length for a meta description tag?
A) 50-100 characters
B) 150-160 characters
C) 200-250 characters
D) Unlimited
Answer: B
Explanation: Search engines typically truncate meta descriptions longer than 150-160 characters, so keeping them within this range ensures the full description is visible in search results.
Question 9: Which meta tag is commonly used for social media sharing, like on Facebook?
A) Meta viewport
B) Open Graph meta tags, such as og:title
C) Meta keywords
D) Meta charset
Answer: B
Explanation: Open Graph meta tags, like {meta property=”og:title” content=”Page Title”}, provide structured data that platforms like Facebook use to display rich previews when content is shared.
Question 10: Why might search engines ignore the meta keywords tag today?
A) Because it conflicts with meta description
B) Due to spam abuse in the past, leading engines like Google to de-emphasize it
C) It only works on mobile devices
D) It requires HTTPS
Answer: B
Explanation: The meta keywords tag was exploited for keyword stuffing, so major search engines now prioritize on-page content and user signals over it for ranking.
Question 11: What does the meta tag with http-equiv=”X-UA-Compatible” do?
A) Specifies the document mode for Internet Explorer
B) Sets the page’s refresh interval
C) Defines keywords for SEO
D) Controls page indexing
Answer: A
Explanation: This tag, like {meta http-equiv=”X-UA-Compatible” content=”IE=edge”}, tells older versions of Internet Explorer to use the latest rendering engine, improving compatibility.
Question 12: In what section of an HTML document should meta tags be placed?
A) Inside the {body} tag
B) Inside the {head} tag
C) At the end of the document
D) In the {footer}
Answer: B
Explanation: Meta tags belong in the {head} section of an HTML document, as they provide metadata about the page and are not visible content.
Question 13: Which meta tag is used to specify the author of a webpage?
A) Meta author
B) Meta description
C) There is no standard meta author tag; it’s often done with {meta name=”author” content=”Name”}
D) Meta keywords
Answer: C
Explanation: While not a formal standard, {meta name=”author” content=”Your Name”} is commonly used to attribute authorship, though it’s not directly used by search engines for ranking.
Question 14: What is a potential downside of using a meta refresh tag for redirects?
A) It improves SEO rankings
B) It can be seen as deceptive by search engines, potentially leading to penalties
C) It speeds up page load times
D) It enhances mobile compatibility
Answer: B
Explanation: Meta refresh for redirects may be flagged as cloaking or manipulative by search engines, so server-side redirects like 301 are preferred for SEO.
Question 15: How do meta tags differ from the {title} tag?
A) Meta tags are for content, while {title} is for metadata
B) Meta tags provide additional metadata in the {head}, while {title} specifically sets the page title for browsers and search results
C) They are the same thing
D) Meta tags are only for mobile
Answer: B
Explanation: The {title} tag defines the title of the page, which appears in browser tabs and search results, whereas meta tags handle other metadata like descriptions and keywords.
Question 16: What is the role of the meta generator tag?
A) To specify the software used to create the page, like a CMS
B) To control page redirects
C) To set keywords
D) To define character encoding
Answer: A
Explanation: Tags like {meta name=”generator” content=”WordPress 6.0″} indicate the tool used to build the site, which can be useful for analytics but may reveal security information.
Question 17: Which meta tag helps prevent clickjacking attacks?
A) Meta viewport
B) Meta CSP (Content Security Policy)
C) Meta description
D) Meta robots
Answer: B
Explanation: The meta CSP tag, such as {meta http-equiv=”Content-Security-Policy” content=”default-src ‘self'”}, defines policies to mitigate risks like clickjacking by controlling resource loading.
Question 18: Why is it important to use unique meta descriptions for each page?
A) To avoid duplicate content penalties from search engines
B) To match the page’s exact keywords
C) To improve mobile loading speed
D) To hide content from users
Answer: A
Explanation: Duplicate meta descriptions can signal low-quality content to search engines, potentially harming rankings, so customization per page is recommended.
Question 19: What is the effect of the meta tag with content=”follow” in meta robots?
A) It tells search engines to index the page but not follow links
B) It tells search engines to follow links on the page
C) It blocks the page entirely
D) It sets the character encoding
Answer: B
Explanation: In {meta name=”robots” content=”follow”}, search engines are instructed to crawl and follow hyperlinks on the page, aiding in site discovery.
Question 20: How can meta tags impact a website’s SEO performance?
A) They directly determine page rank
B) They influence click-through rates and provide context, but are not primary ranking factors
C) They have no impact
D) They only affect mobile SEO
Answer: B
Explanation: While meta tags like descriptions don’t directly affect rankings, they help with user engagement by improving how pages appear in search results, indirectly boosting SEO.
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Part 3: Automatically generate quiz questions using OnlineExamMaker AI Question Generator
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