Writing a great blog post is one achievement, getting traffic to your page is another.
Writing a great blog post is one achievement, getting traffic to your page is another.
Meta information might seem like the least important part of your content, but it could be the key to boosting the rank of your page.
Read our expert guide to writing meta tags for SEO and take a look at our SEO services for more information about how we can help you.
Meta Tags SEO Importance
Meta tags are a part of the foundation of SEO.
Out of all of the Google ranking factors, meta tags are one of the oldest. In a world where the rules of SEO are always changing, meta tags still hold their place as one of the most important ranking factors.
Meta tags signify clearly to your audience what your page is about. This information is displayed on search engine result pages, web browsers, and social media platforms. If written well, they can grab attention and bring in organic traffic.
In conjunction with their audience appeal, meta tags act as a signal to search engines – telling them what your page is about.
Title
The title tag is shown at the top of your page listing in the search results. It is generally the title of your article followed by the name of your website.
Description
The meta description is the short blurb located underneath the URL of your web page. It is generally a couple of sentences that describe your content.
Keywords
The meta keywords for your page are not visible in Google search results, nor are they a part of the ranking factor. They are entered in the backend of your website (along with your other meta tags). Entering unique keywords in the meta data for your page can help you track which page is targeting each word and avoid any crossovers.
Writing Meta Tags for SEO
How to Write a Meta Title
Google prefers titles that are 50 to 60 characters long. You should try to include the focus keyword in your title, but be careful of trying to stuff too many keywords in one title.
For example,
Shopify Partners Melbourne | Digital Animals
Includes the key phrase Shopify Partners Melbourne and the domain name. Put the most important information (the key phrase) at the start of your title.
Make sure your title is clear and tells your audience what the page is about. Remember that while SEO is important, you need to try and engage your audience.
You can use the MOZ SEO title generator to see how your title might look to a search engine.
It is crucial that you have a unique meta title for every page on your website. Duplicate meta titles can confuse search engines and cause cannibalising of page rankings within your website.
Google Meta Description Guide
When it comes to writing meta tags for SEO, most people focus on Google. It is the search engine of choice for the majority of audiences.
According to MOZ, Google prefers descriptions that are up to 160 characters long.
While Google does not consider meta descriptions as a part of the ranking factors, you should still include your key phrase in your description. After all, the key phrase will act as a signal to your audience about the content of your page.
Make your description as clear and compelling as possible. Use active language and include a call to action that will make a reader want to click.
It is very important that you have a unique meta description for each page on your website.
Meta Keywords
Just like descriptions, meta keywords are not a Google ranking factor, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help you with your SEO strategy.
By entering the keywords you want to target on your page, you can track which page is targeting which phrases.
The Yoast SEO tool for WordPress has a great feature where you enter your keyword and it will notify you if another page has already used it.
For more information about keyword cannibalisation, take a look at the MOZ blog.
Contact Digital Animals Today
Need help writing meta tags for SEO? Contact us now.
We have a team of Search Engine Optimisation experts who can boost your ranking today.
Author: Anna Clark – Copywriter & Digital Marketing Assistant, Digital Animals