A complete guide to mastering SEO metadata

Meta who? Don’t worry, we’re not talking about Facebook or Mark Zuckerberg today. 

If you manage the content for a website, whether your own or your employer’s, then it’s likely that you’ve come across the terms SEO metadata and SEO metatags. 

It all sounds quite technical at first, but mastering your website’s metadata can actually help your content rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs), leading to more traction and business. 

Ready for your no-frills guide to all things metadata? Let’s begin.

What is SEO metadata?

SEO metadata is a core component of effective search engine optimisation (SEO), and its purpose is to help search engines understand the information, relevance, and purpose of your content.

When you optimise your website’s metadata, it can help improve the visibility of your website, how much organic (unpaid) traffic your content receives, and how long users engage with it. All of these factors signal to search engines that your content is worth reading, pushing it higher up the rankings for key search terms and keywords.

However, it’s not something that you can always see on your website. Instead, SEO metadata works behind the scenes and is embedded into your website’s back-end HTML code.

The different types of SEO metadata and how to optimise them

There are two key types of SEO metadata you’ll need to know to get started:

Meta titles

A meta title (also known as a title tag) is the headline you click on when you’re browsing through the SERP. It will usually look something like this:

In the HTML code, this particular meta title would look like this:

<title>The Content Coven: Content & Copywriting Services</title>

To see a website page’s metadata within its HTML code, CTRL + Click the page, select ‘View Page Source’ from the dropdown menu, then use CTRL + F to search for the meta tag.

Why is it important to have an optimised meta title?

Your chosen meta title is an incredibly important ranking factor, as it tells search engines and browsers exactly what your page is about and the purpose it serves. This can help improve your page’s ranking, click-through rate (CTR), and how users perceive your brand.

How to optimise a meta title

When you follow these meta title best practices, you can boost your page’s search engine ranking and user engagement:

• Include SEO search terms: Identify your primary SEO keywords using a keyword research tool like Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner. Choose 1-2 keywords that are most relevant to your business offering and receive a high number of monthly searches. Include them within your meta title.

  
  

• Keep your wording clear and relevant: Your meta title should be simple, easy to understand, and reflect the contents of the page.

  
  

• Make it unique: All pages on your website need their own meta title, so it’s important to make each page title distinct and specifically relevant to its contents to avoid duplication or cannibalisation (where pages compete against one another for the same keyword).
  

• Check that it isn’t too long or too short: Although there's technically no limit on meta title length set out by Google, the ideal sits between 50 and 60 characters. If it’s too short, you’re probably not including enough useful information. If it’s too long, then you risk cutting off important text (also known as truncation). We like to use this meta title and meta description length checker to double-check.

Meta descriptions

Meta descriptions sit directly beneath the meta title in the SERP, and will typically look like this:

In the HTML code, this meta description would appear like this:

<meta name= “description” content="Need a hand with web copy, blogs, or product descriptions? Let The Content Coven support you with captivating copywriting services.”>

Why is it important to have an optimised meta description?

Your meta description acts as a short, informative summary of a page’s contents, and it is usually the first thing a visitor will read before clicking through to your website. 

With this in mind, an optimised meta description can improve search engine visibility, increase conversion rates, and immediately show users that your content is worth a look.

How to optimise a meta description

Need a bit more insight into how to write a meta description? These SEO best practices will get you on the right track: 

• Stick to the character limit: Meta descriptions should be 150 to 160 characters in length. Longer descriptions can be cut off, so it’s worth using a reliable meta description length checker like the one we’ve referenced above.
  

• Include primary and secondary keywords: Incorporate your primary keyword and a secondary keyword as naturally as possible to help increase visibility.
  

• Add in a short, snappy call-to-action (CTA): Finish your meta description with a CTA like ‘buy now’, ‘order today’, or ‘get a quote’ to prompt action.
  

• Keep it natural: Remember, you’re writing for real-life humans who are searching with a specific intent, whether this be to buy, to learn, or to research. Make sure your meta description writing reflects this.
  

• Keep it relevant: Similar to your meta title, your meta description should accurately summarise the page’s content. This can avoid disappointment and prevent abandoned searches.

How can search intent impact how you write your SEO metadata?

We’ve covered the basics, but it’s also important to consider your target audience’s search intent when crafting your metadata. 

Search intent is all about why someone decides to look for something online. When your metadata aligns with your target audience’s search intent, it can automatically make your content feel more relevant to them, resulting in a click-through or conversion.

Search intent types and how they impact metadata

Web users can be motivated by multiple types of search intent, so you may find that some overlap slightly.

The table below identifies the most common types of search intent and how you can reflect them within your meta titles and meta descriptions:

Contact The Content Coven for metadata optimisation

We really hope we’ve given you some insight into the world of metadata, and why it’s well worth learning about if you’d like your website to stay visible on search engines.

At The Content Coven, we always include metadata optimisation as part of our SEO blog and landing page writing services. Why? Because your content and metadata are supposed to work in harmony. 

If you’d like to learn more about how we can boost your website content with our repertoire of SEO copywriting skills, feel free to take a look at our copywriting services and pricing page and submit an enquiry today. 

We’d love to get to know a bit more about you, your business, and your content!