Are meta tags really important?

I have heard several different arguments regarding the importance of meta tags. I have heard from some that they are not at all important anymore but from others they are. Some say that Google does not care about them while others say that Google says they do. From a SEO standpoint I believe that meta tags remain important. Additionally, even if meta tags are not currently considered important they might be in the future.
When you are discussing meta tags you are not looking at a lengthy process; rather, you are talking about spending a few minutes. With all the time consuming work you do to build backlinks and optimize pages why not spend just a few more minutes.
Where I have personally found meta tags to be very important is with Google’s quality score. For those who are unaware your paid ranking on Google is not only determined by how much you bid. The rank is also determined by a complex algorithm which is referred to as your quality score.
While this may seem a bit confusing it can be simplified. If Google thinks that your ad is going to cause users to click on it and be happy with what they clicked on they want to show your ad. This means they charge you less money per click. If they do not think users will click on it they charge you more money because you are using up a spot that could be making them more money and their users happy.
This quality score is extremely important and can make all the difference. This is not a matter to be overlooked.
When I tested identical sites with and without meta tags I found that there was a huge difference. Where I had a score of "poor" for one I had "excellent" for the other. I am not positive that this was caused by meta tags but I am pretty confident that they at least played a role. As I stated earlier, meta tags take so little time to add that I wouldn’t want to waste my time not adding them.

Geoff Lilienfeld is co-founder of mysearchbonus.com

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