Dos and Don’ts of Meta Tags

Over the years, meta tags have been important in SEO ranking. Meta tags are the way Google and other search engines can quickly determine what your content is about. Although Google no longer uses meta tags for ranking, it doesn’t mean you need to ignore them. They are still key in search engines to determine the overall content on a page. The idea is to create meta tags that can boost your SEO. Here’s a checklist by the industry experts at Saba SEO, a renowned San Diego SEO company.

Meta Tag Titles 

• Don’t create a title longer than 65 characters. Do write a title that has around 50 characters.
   
• Don’t create a random title. Do your research and use your primary keyword at the beginning of the title. Do use a secondary keyword near the beginning of the title, as well as your brand or product within the first 50 characters. 
• Don’t create a confusing title. Do try to make it concise and easy to read.

Meta Tag Descriptions

• Don’t create a meta tag description longer than 240 characters. Do write meta tags that are around 155-160 characters long. 
• Don’t insert your primary keyword at the end of the meta tag description. Do include your primary keyword in the beginning of the description.
   
• Don’t include misleading clickbait in the meta tag description. Do include a concise and accurate description.
   
• Don’t forget invitations to check out your product or site. Do remember to include a CTA (call to action) that solves a problem or gives a potential customer incentive to check out your site, like a free offer or shipping.
   
• Don’t leave out punctuation. Do include a period or an exclamation point at the end of your meta tag description. 

Meta titles and descriptions can increase your click-through rate, a potential ranking factor. They’re used as a hook to grab attention and make people click your page. Meta tags are usually not visible to the readers, but they’re important for the search engine robots. Having meta titles and descriptions isn’t enough for SEO. Meta tags also include canonical tags, robot tags, and HTML tags. Optimizing a website requires technical knowledge and hands-on experience. At Saba SEO, our team of SEO specialists can create an SEO strategy to increase your online rankings. As a leading SEO company in San Diego, we have over ten years of experience in search engine optimization, content development, web design, and social media management. To talk to one of our professional SEO Managers, give us a call at 858-277-1717 today.