To put it simply, Metadata is “Data about data”. Traditionally it was used in card catalogs of libraries; but with the increase in use of digital data, it is also being used to describe digital data. Getting exact metadata in your code is extremely important as it will help in brand engagement and SEO. There are different elements of metadata which are beneficial for you.

• Titles and Descriptions:

These days’ title and descriptions have gained a lot of importance because of many social media platforms. Keywords, user-targeted copy, humble HTML title tag and Meta description Meta tag are the key factors for SEO.

• Twitter Card:

This will help you to improve the looks of your tweets. In Twitter Card with URL, you can specify different types of card for summary, summary with an image, video and slideshow. You can specify how you want your tweet to look like after it is tweeted.

If you want to execute these changes in your twitter profile then just put the tag in HTML. After testing it with the Validator tool, apply the changes on twitter into the program with the help of Twitter Developer. It may take couple of weeks to get these tags accepted.

• Open Graph:

Open Graph is Facebook’s brainchild. As it is Facebook’s invention, it was only used by Facebook in the beginning; but gradually many other sites started adopting this protocol. This is used to supply semantic information about the webpages, types of content that can be shared like videos, photographs and other types of content. Recently in Google search they have started showing video play icon with the Open Graph tagged videos.

Similar to the Twitter Card protocol, you can specify the viewing options of your content in advance with Open Graph protocol. This is a good tool which assures you brand engagement.

• Schema.org:

It is a protocol that includes almost everything. It is the common structured data protocol of a group of different leading search providers. In local search results, events like concerts and movies, recipes, name and addresses, articles, and embedded videos; Schema.org protocol is used.

Due to its complex nature, it may make sense to check the quality of your code with some tools like Google Structured Data Testing Tool.

• Google Specific Metadata:

There are bunch of custom made Meta tags used with Google; however publisher Meta tag and authorship Meta tags are the ones that impact SEO the most. Adding authorship Meta tag in combination with the website to the “Contributor to” section of your Google+ profile will help you in getting rich snippet. It will show your content with your picture.

Publisher Meta tags are created for individuals. This helps you to find which Google+ pages are connected to the web.

Implementing metadata in your CMS is a simple task. WordPress also has multiple plug-ins to establish various metadata protocols. In Joomla and Drupal also you can find few plug-ins to create metadata protocols.

As there are many advantages of adding metadata to your content, many bloggers and brands are adopting it as a lifelong partner in their digital life.