Glossary · Websites and content systems
Metadata
Structured information describing a page or resource, including titles, descriptions, canonical references, and social-sharing fields.
Definition
Metadata describes content outside or alongside the main visible body. Website examples include the document title, meta description, canonical URL, robots directives, language, Open Graph fields, and structured data. Some fields influence presentation; none replace useful page content.
Why it matters
Accurate metadata helps browsers, search systems, social platforms, and internal tools understand which page exists and how it should be represented.
Common misunderstanding
A meta description is not a ranking guarantee and may not be used verbatim in a search result.
Related terms
Related system family: Websites & Publishing
Sources
- Search Console API (opens in a new tab) · Google for Developers
- How the web works (opens in a new tab) · MDN Web Docs
Last reviewed July 16, 2026