Meta data is an element of a web site that is predominantly used to give indications to third party systems about the content it contains. Those familiar with building websites will be used to seeing the following HTML meta types/<tags>:

• 1. Title
• 2. Meta Description
• 3. Meta Keywords

There are of course many other Meta tags/data available for use on websites than just those listed above. A few years ago these items were considered valuable to search engines as part of their ranking algorithms. However, these days they are no longer held in such high esteem as they are open to manipulation by the developers and webmasters.

Should You Still Include Meta Data For Search Engine Optimisation?

This in itself is open to much debate due to its current lack of importance with the search engines. Some experts are for and some are against. At FIJ Design we take a view that “every little helps” and therefore not to waste an opportunity when it’s freely available. That said, it’s extremely important to pay particular attention to making sure any meta data that you do use is done so correctly.

The Most Common Meta Tags & Usage

Title <title>

Although not strictly a “meta” tag, the title tag plays one of the most important parts in search engine optimisation. Particular attention should be made to avoid duplicate content issues and ensure all your titles are:

• 1. Unique & descriptive
• 2. Contain keyword rich phrases based on the content of the page
• 3. Engaging for the potential visitor
• 4. Contain no more than 66 characters and a maximum of 12 keywords (for Google, other search engines vary but this is a good guide)
• 5. Non repetitive – do not repeat the same word (where possible to do so) or use the same title on other pages
• 6. Focused on Call To Action (CTA), its one of the most important parts in increasing your Click Through Rate (CTR)

An example of poor title usage:

<title>Home Page</title>

Why? This does nothing to identify the content of the page to a potential customer or a search engine.

An example of good title usage:

<title>Ultimate 24 hour Car Cleaning Services in Hampton, Middlesex | CarPros Ltd</title>

Why? This title is good as it clearly identifies the service, contains keywords, contains key locations and includes the company name. All things the average user searches for.

Meta Description

Like the above “title” tag, the meta description should avoid duplication throughout your site. It is pointless to repeat the same description on every page and your site will be penalised if you do so. You can apply the same philosophy as the “title” tag to the meta description, it should be:

• 1. Unique, descriptive & creative
• 2. Keyword rich with phrases based on the content of the page
• 3. Engaging for the potential visitor
• 4. Maximum of 25 words (more is accepted but the engines will shorten them to display)
• 5. Non-repetitive – do not repeat the same words (where possible to do so) or the same description on other pages
• 6. Focused on Call To Action (CTA), it plays a big part in increasing your Click Through Rate (CTR)

The main goal of a description should to be to make it well written and engaging to potential customers for when it is shown in search engine result pages (SERP). Note the search engines may not always use this data, sometimes they choose to display a snippet of text from the main content of your site depending on various factors within their algorithms, etc.

Meta Keywords

The Meta keywords tag has almost been phased out by some seo companies, however at FIJ Design we believe it’s still worth spending some time populating this area to assist in giving that extra hint about the topicality of a specific page. Your Meta keywords should:

• 1. Be specific and relevant to the page
• 2. Use combinations or variations of words and phrases
• 3. Contain the odd misspelled version of a particular phrase
• 4. Contain no more than 30 phrases
• 5. Avoid using bland singular words
• 6. Use locations (when appropriate to do so)

We have recently taken on a search engine optimisation project for an estate agent who had been trying to optimise their site by themselves. Needless to say without any luck, I like to use their data as an example of what not to do!

This is where professional seo services really make the difference, as it requires years of knowledge, experience and staying up with current trends to make it work properly.

With regards to their keywords, in a nutshell, they had rammed in over 200 keywords into their meta keywords section and only 5 of which were suitable for their site. They then duplicated it on all their pages thinking it was a good thing.

Here is a snippet from the list (it’s a good example of what not to do):

“Perfect, Proportions, Delightful, Desirable, Highly, Extremely, Good, Order, In, Our, Opinion, Situated, Of, Off, The, All, On, And, Can, If, We, Be, Your, Totally, Close, Quiet, Busy, Sunny, Bright, Facing, Fencing, Decking, Enclosed, Big, Easy, Please, Contact, Us, Ring, Email, Telephone, We, Do, No, Attention, To, Detail, Web, Site, Find, Details, Happy, Help, Helpful, On-line, Advise, You, Don’t, Miss, Out, Early, Essential, Recommended, Assistance, Always, Keep, Want, Look, Looking, Customers, People”

What should have been done (example only):

“Estate agents, estage agents kent, buy property kent, property for sale kent, homes for sale, kent estate agents”

It’s enough to do the job and specific enough to be relevant to the specific page. If you require assistance with anything you have read here or elsewhere on our blog please feel free to contact us.