Metadata is an important element of the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) of your website. It’s a relatively simple task that’s easily forgotten – but can really improve how your website works for you, potentially leading to higher search rankings.
We recommend that all of our clients use metadata to its full potential as it can increase visibility organically, improve click-through rates, and help generate more traffic for your website.
What is metadata
The term “meta” in this context essentially means something self-referential. So, simply: metadata is data about data on a web page. It describes the page content, purpose and key words in a way that search engines can understand, making it a straightforward way to increase visibility.
There are two main elements that make up a page’s metadata: the page title (metatitle, or title tags) and the page description (meta description).
The page title tells the search engine exactly what the page is about and meta descriptions describe the page in more detail, appearing underneath.
For example:
This is the search result for if you find our webpage on branding. The title of the page on our site is just “Branding Services”, but the metatitle is “Branding Services – Logo & Graphic Designers”.
We use the metatitle to add this extra information for search users as this is a core part of our services, and a keyword that users might be searching for. The meta description describes what content is within the page, adding a bit more detail that will encourage a user to click through.
For example: “We are a flexible and responsive full-service digital branding agency, bringing you to life in online spaces.”
Why is metadata important for SEO?
Metatitles are a direct ranking factor in SEO, and one of the biggest that Google uses – if a keyword appears in a metatitle, it is more likely that that page will be served to users who have searched for that keyword.
Meta descriptions are not direct ranking factors – they are instead a great way to try and improve click-through rates to the site by offering supporting context that encourages the click.
Search engines will use bots to crawl all of your page’s content, including metadata, to rank your website within the search results page. If you use meta data that is incorrect, or not relevant to your page content, the search engine will be less likely to display your content for that term.
If your meta description misrepresents what’s on the page, it’ll cause users to bounce away, increasing your bounce rate, and telling the search engine that it’s a less useful result.
How to add metadata to a website
The process for adding metadata depends on how your website’s been built. If you use WordPress, the most popular route is a plugin called Yoast that lets you add metadata to pages easily – we use it ourselves!
Other websites might need a developer to hard code metadata into their pages using the relevant code tags.
How to write good metatitles
A lot of the time, the title of your page combined with your company name will make a perfectly good metatitle – but you can go further.
You have around 60 characters to play with in a metatitle – so try and work in multiple keyword variations for the same page, like we did with our branding page above.
Different approaches are needed for different types of content. If you’re writing a metatitle for an event, for example, you might want to include key details like the date, price, or town/city, as well as the name of the venue.
How to write good meta descriptions
With more space in the description, there’s a bit more to think about:
- Characters: keep your descriptions to around 155 characters. This ensures that what you want to say is actually shown on the search engine results page.
- Make it relevant, and concise: your descriptions need to catch the attention of the reader to get them to want to visit the page on your website.
- Use keywords: incorporate your keywords into the description – even if they’re not ranking factors, they’ll help users know this is the right page for their search.
- Make sure it matches the content: you want to keep your meta description relevant to the page, nobody wants to land on a page that is not relevant to what they’ve clicked on!
- Keep it unique: research what other phrases or terms your competitors are using for that page or product, and try to make yours stand out.
However, it is important to note that your meta description is not guaranteed to show in a search result – Google might grab a snippet from the page that is most closely related to the keyword searched for, so we always make sure to clarify that while meta descriptions are important, it’s metatitles that will have the biggest impact.
Wrapping it up
We recommend taking your time to make sure that your metadata is relevant, concise and appropriate for your pages. By doing so, you’ll be ensuring that your content is displayed to the right audience, and ticking the search engines boxes – so they’ll be more likely to display your content – win-win!
An underestimated element of SEO, metadata can improve user experience, influence click through rates and increase engagement. By making sure everything ties in together, using key words and call to actions throughout, you’ll be well on your way to improving your SERP SEO.
