First of all I need to show you what Meta Data looks like & how to write them correctly so they benefit the page to which they are attached. (see below):
<title>your title goes here</title>
<meta name="description" content="your description goes here" />
<meta name="keywords"your keywords go here" />
The <title> should be the first line of Meta Data that is inputted after the <head> Tag as Google assigns a great deal of weight for the <title> so it be the first thing it reads when hitting the page.
<head>
<title>your title goes here</title>
Let me explain what you need to remember when writing your <title>. Google looks at the <title> as a very important ranking denominator when indexing a page. There are some rules that need to be followed. First you need to remember to get your main keyword phrase at the beginning of the title. The keyword phrase should be as close to 50% of the entire title as you possibly can. So lets look at the above example & see how this can be improved:
Wrong:
<title>writing meta data correctly</title> (Keyword weight 100%) ✖
Right:
<title>writing meta data, Lee Johnson SEO</title> (Keyword weight 50%) ✔
<title>Meta data Tips, from Lee Johnson</title> (alternative title, still keyword weighted 50%). ✔
As you can see by this example the new <title> is weighted better (at 50%) but we have also added more keyword capabilities too.
<meta name="description" content="How to write meta data correctly to get the most from your website. The answers are here." />
When writing a Meta description, three things need to be considered before writing it.
1st: A description should be no more than around 125 characters. The reason for this is quite simple, Google & other search engines sometimes not always, display your description as the description in their SERPs (search engine results pages). Anymore would be not use & is pointless.
2nd: The description needs to have your main keyword phrase as close to the beginning of the description as you possibly can. The start of the keyword phrase needs to start within the first three words of the description.
3rd: The description needs to flow & sound human when read. Remember a potential client may read this before he/she makes a decision to click on your link on the SERPs. It needs to make someone want to click on the link. This also applies to the title. If it does not gain interest you have lost them without even arriving on your website. (75 – 125 characters long), Google cannot display anymore than this on the results page).
While Meta Tags have been devalued, this doesn’t make them valueless. Meta description tag can appear on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) so make sure it accurately describes the page contents while being human-friendly.
With regards the keywords, This is now very overlooked by Google & is not a ranking factor anymore. I would still add them as other search engines out there do use them as a pat of the ranking process. I would suggest having 4 keyword phrases for every individual page that the client is looking to be found for.
<meta name="keywords" content=" (1) 25%) writing meta data, (2) 25%) meta data, (3) 25%) meta data instructions, (4) 25%) meta" />
Use different key phrases for each page. It is advisable to use the company name as one of the key phrases. Keep to this rule of thumb on all pages within the site.
If you don't have the time to implement the above Meta Data on your site or you would like me to assist you, please contact me today for a free quote. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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