Metadata :-

• Metadata is the information used to describe another piece of data. For example, metadata for a book might include the author’s name, publishing date, publisher’s name, etc. Metadata for a music file could include the singer’s name, the album’s name, and the release date.

• A common place where most people face metadata is a computer file. It contains the size, the creation date, and location. Some files may have their metadata stored in separate files.

• Metadata is behind-the-scenes data used in many places and by numerous industries. Be it online retailing, social media, websites, and software, you are likely to find useful metadata describing files.

• Metadata can be generated automatically or typed in manually, depending on the purpose it serves. Its key goal is to make the search for information easier.

Four Types of Metadata -

• Structural Metadata - This metadata has to do with the organization of the digital asset. For example, it shows how notes make up a notebook in OneNote or how the book is arranged to form chapters. It also shows if the file is part of a multiple collection, thus simplifying the navigation of an electronic source. The examples of structural data are page number, sections, chapters, indexes.

• Administrative Metadata - This metadata describes the technical source of a file. It usually includes file type and creation/change data. Administrative metadata includes information about intellectual property and rights to the file.

• Descriptive metadata - This metadata is used for discovering and identifying assets. It describes the file, including its title, author, and relevant keyword. This data allows you to navigate the library to find a book of a certain genre published after 2018. Basically, this data is used to simplify the search for a digital asset.

• Webpage Metadata - This metadata helps the search engines collect information about your website to give it the right rankings.

Need of Metadata :-

• Metadata describes unseen HTML elements that directly communicate and clarify website information for search engines, playing a critical role in effective Search Engine Optimization for retailers.

• This series of micro-communications includes page titles, description tags and other protocols, and they may describe purposes, characteristics and general content.

• Metadata is a structured way to communicate information about a data set, which is used in a variety of settings with special relevance for ecommerce businesses.

• When it comes to SEO, the importance of metadata is hard to overestimate. It’s critical to demonstrating the relevance of a website to a search engine. As the search engine evaluates your website according to its purpose, your metadata is the means of communication. The website sends information to the search engine using the metadata.