What are meta tags?
Meta tags are the first thing a search engine sees on your website. They are part of your site’s code, usually within your web page’s <head> section. They are usually part of “SEO 101” for your WordPress SEO services expert. Meta tags are used to give the search engines information about your website that’s not displayed in the actual content. They’re also used to add clickable keywords to your page so that your content appears higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Meta tags are a set of words (or “keywords”) and phrases that describe the content of your web page. They are hidden from the reader but are visible to search engines. Search engines use meta tags as a form of automated metadata that helps them better understand the content of your page and also helps determine the page’s ranking in the SERPs.
Why are meta tags important for SEO?
Meta tags are essential for WordPress SEO because they are the foundation of how search engines “read” your site. The text in your meta tags (and, therefore, your site’s metadata) is what your site is “talking” to Google and other search engines like Bing, Yahoo!, and Yandex. To be found online, you must tell search engines what your site is about. Meta tags are the first thing that search engines see on your site. If they aren’t written well or are incomplete, the engines could misunderstand your site and not rank it as highly as it could be. Once you get the meta tags right, your site will have better rankings and more traffic from search engines.
The different types of meta tags
- Title Tag – This is the visible text that appears in the browser tab and search engine results. It’s also the text you’ll use for your social media posts.
- Description Tag – This is visible only to search engines and is the text that appears below your title in search engine results. The description can be up to 156 characters long.
- Keyword Tag – The meta tag contains a list of relevant keywords describing your content. A comma separates each keyword. These keywords will help your content rank higher in search engine results.
- Author Tag – The author tag is meant to display the author’s name and a link to the author’s bio.
- Publisher Tag – This tag displays information about the website owner.
How to write effective meta tags
Before you write your meta tags, you must first decide what to write about. To do that, you need to develop a topic or a set of relevant topics for your website. This can be the name of your blog, a particular skill you have, or perhaps a product you’re selling. Now, take those topics and expand on them. What are the main things people would want to know about those topics? What questions would they have about them? What would they be looking for as they search for information on those topics? You need to develop keywords or search terms people use to find this information. But don’t just come up with one set of keywords. Come up with a list of them.
How to optimize meta tags for WordPress
Optimizing your meta tags for each article you publish on your blog is essential. Including the keywords for each article in your title, description, and tag is good practice. You should include your blog’s name and URL in your meta tags. However, you don’t want to overdo it and use all the tags. Instead, you want to pick the most important ones. Some bloggers recommend using the following rules: Use your title tag, use an H1 header and the most significant and crucial header on a page. The first few words of your title should also be included in your description. For your keywords, pick three to five words and make sure they’re relevant to your topic. You can use a keyword tool to help you develop keywords related to your article. For your author tag, use your real name or your pen name. Your blog’s name should be included, too. For your publisher name, use your name or your business name.
Best practices for meta tag optimization
- Be unique – You don’t want to be like everyone else. You want to stand out in the crowd, so think about what sets you apart from the rest and put that into your meta tags.
- Be consistent – Make sure your meta tags are consistent across all articles. If you put a list of keywords in one article, ensure you include the same list in the other articles.
- Be concise – Don’t write a novel for your meta tags; keep them short.
- Be accurate – Make sure you get the essential keywords right. You don’t want to miss out on traffic because of a mistake like misspelling a keyword.
- Be consistent – Make sure your meta tags are consistent across all articles. If you put a list of keywords in one article, ensure you include the same list in the other articles.
Meta tag tools and resources
- Google Keyword Planner – Use this tool to find which keywords are related to your blog posts. It’s a good idea to include these keywords in your meta tags.
- SEO for Chrome – Install this browser extension, and it will show you the meta tags for any page you visit. This can be an excellent way to see what your competition is doing and make sure you’re matching or beating them.
- Yoast SEO Plug-In – This free WordPress plug-in allows you to edit your site’s meta tags and other parts.
- SEMrush – A paid tool that can show you the top 10 results for a specific keyword and provide tips on how you can improve your site. It’s also an excellent tool for finding new keywords for your meta tags.
- Google Trends – If you want to ensure your keywords are popular, Google Trends is a great place to start.
- Google Keyword Planner – Use this tool to find which keywords are related to your blog posts. It’s a good idea to include these keywords in your meta tags.
- SEO for Chrome – Install this browser extension, and it will show you the meta tags for any page you visit. This can be an excellent way to see what your competition is doing and make sure you’re matching or beating them.
Common mistakes to avoid with meta tags
Using the wrong keywords: You don’t want to write for the search engine; you want to write for humans. However, you also want to ensure that you include the right keywords in your post.