In case you are new to SEO or search engine optimization, you may not have heard about Meta tags. They are a significant component of on-page SEO. Many people underestimate the significance of meta titles and meta descriptions. The Meta titles and Meta descriptions are also referred to as meta tags. They are snippets of the HTML code that get displayed on the SERPs or search engine results pages. They provide a brief overview of the content on the page. They inform the search engines crawlers and the users about the info on a web page.
Significance of Meta titles and Meta descriptions
The significance of Meta tags is related to the improvement in click-through rate to the web pages rather than just the ranking. Although Google has mentioned that they are not one of the ranking factors, search engines collect information from them. Another significant factor is that when a user has asked for something, the keywords present in Meta descriptions and Meta titles get displayed in bold. This allows the user to judge the relevance of the website for the keyword. Another reason for their importance is that they encourage organic users to click through to your website. When certain pages are shared on your social media platforms the Meta tags are displayed explaining what the pages are about. Having stronger Meta tags will pave the way for more clicks from the visitors.
Optimization of Meta Titles
All search engines display only a small number of pixels from the Meta tags. This number is 600 for Meta titles. It is equivalent to between 55 and 70 characters. It may be better to err on the side of cautiousness and write the Meta titles having around 55 characters. This will ensure that the text is visible on desktops and mobile phones both. The tags must contain these keywords naturally and tell the users about the web page. Every page of your website must have a unique title. The pages having the same Meta titles are considered to be duplicates by the search engines. This can affect the placement of your web pages in the search results. The search engines may even re-write the Meta title. It means there is a lot of hard work for nothing. It is a good idea to write unique Meta titles for every page. This makes the way for a better chance of ranking high in the SERPs.
Optimization of Meta descriptions
The Meta description needs around 155 characters for it to be displayed correctly on the SERPs. It must provide a brief overview of the web page content and the keywords must appear naturally. There should not be an overuse of keywords because it will be envisaged as spam by the different search engines. The description must be enticing to the readers and convince them about visiting the web page. The best ones are those that tell the readers about the web page content without actually telling everything about the page. There is a CTA (call to action) there as well. This makes it more probable that the users will click on the link to visit your web page. This CTA can be anything from “Buy Now” to “Read our blog” or “Find more information”. They tell the users what to do next after they have read the Meta description. Every page on your site must have a unique Meta description. It has to be relevant to the page it is describing. The description must also contain relevant and well-researched keywords. These Meta descriptions represent the web page.
From all the discussion above, you must have realized that underestimating the significance of Meta titles and Meta descriptions may result in issues with the click-through rates. They have to be correctly optimized. You need to ensure that there is a correct number of characters used while writing them. And they are telling the users about the web page content. Although they are not one of the ranking factors for Google, their optimization is a significant component of the overall SEO strategy. If your business operates from Clearwater, FL area, there is SEO expertise available with Alphabet Marketing. Get in touch with them today for help with your website metatags.