Optimizing Metadata for SEO in 2024

Understanding Metadata for SEO

Metadata or meta tags are not the only solution for on page SEO, organic traffic and search engine optimization, but they are one pieces of the overall search engine optimization process. The page title (meta title) and the Meta description (page description) are what searchers see in the search engine results pages, also known as SERPS. To optimize these is to include a marketing message to help entice users to click on your website.

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SEO Page Title Best Practices

Page Titles, or sometimes known as title tags, are used for search engine results to display brief snippets for any given web page to show what that page is about or what content the user can anticipate to be on that page. These are important for SEO and also are shown in social media sharing of the page. The page title of a web page is meant to be an accurate and concise description of a page’s content.

1. Google defines length by pixels more than purely by character count. Google calculates the pixel width of the characters used in titles with a limit of 512 pixels (around 70 characters). Anything over this limit, Google shortens the page title and includes an ellipsis.
2. The page title should contain the most important keyword that appears on the Web page.
3. Don’t use stop words such as “the”, “a”, “is”, “are” , "in", "of", etc.
4. Page titles should read well and contain a marketing message.

SEO Meta Description Best Practices‍

The Meta Description or description tag is an important part of a Web page to consider when optimizing your metadata for SEO and shows as the second line in search engine results pages. In a nutshell, it provides a brief description to the visitor about your webpage and helps define the users expectations.

1. Meta descriptions can be any length, but search engines truncate snippets longer than 160 characters. It is best to keep a meta description length between 150 and 160 characters.
2. Limit the use of stop words.
3. Don’t repeat words.
4. Keep keywords unique to the Web page.
5. Include the keyword that is written in the Page Title.

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Some important things to consider:

1. Page title and H1 should be different.
2. A good place to strategically place keywords and boost results is the image alt text, but don't over use this by stuffing keywords.

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Metadata Attracts the Right Kind of User

Metadata should be the base and the start of SEO for your small business website. It is how the keywords for your business are first decided and identified online. Make sure they are clear, relevant and updated regularly to increase click rates in SERPS and and keep bounce rates low in your analytical reports. Traffic is nice to have, but only the right traffic will convert and be valuable to your business. Be sure to grab their attention with optimized metadata for your small business website.

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Not sure how to add metadata or need help? Always Fresh sites come with SEO optimization and easy to use reporting, with a full site refresh every 2 years at no extra cost. Contact us to see how we can increase your online presence with a custom built website today!