What is Metadata?

Metadata is data that describes or provides information about other data. It is often called “data about data” or “information about information.” Metadata can be used to describe a wide variety of things, including documents, images, videos, audio files, and other types of digital content.

Metadata typically includes information such as the title of a document, the author’s name, the date it was created, and the subject matter. It can also include technical details such as the file size, the format, and the resolution. In the case of multimedia content, metadata might include information about the length of a video or audio file, the artist and title of a song, or the camera settings used to take a photograph.

Metadata is useful because it helps to organize and classify digital content, making it easier to find and retrieve. It is often used in databases and other types of information systems to help users locate specific items of interest. Metadata is also used to preserve the context and meaning of digital content, helping to ensure that it can be understood and used effectively over time.

Search engines utilize meta tags to determine the relevance of a web page. Until the late 1990s, meta tags were the most important aspect in deciding search positions. With the rise of search engine optimization (SEO) towards the end of the 1990s, many websites began keyword stuffing their metadata in order to fool search engines and appear more relevant than others.

Since then, search engines have relied less on meta tags. However, they are still used when indexing pages. Many search engines also try to prevent web pages from deceiving their systems by frequently changing their ranking criteria, with Google being renowned for routinely changing its ranking algorithms.