Importance Of Using Good Meta Tags For SEO Optimisation
Posted on: May 20, 2022
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is the process of improving one’s site traffic by increasing the visibility when consumers search for services or products that may be related to said business on the various search engines. In other words, the more visible your page is to them, the higher one’s chances are of attracting the right crowd, which in turns affects lead generation.
While there are many SEO methods, one of the most fundamental yet essential methods to optimise SEO is using good meta tags, which we will be sharing with you here.
What are meta tags?
Think of it as a concise summary of your page. Both the search engines and users utilise meta tags to preview the page’s content. Essentially, it provides them with information on what the page is about.
Meta tags, short for metadata tags, do not appear physically on the actual page but appear in the page’s URL. They are the preview texts users view on the search engine result page (SERP).
Why are meta tags necessary for SEO?
Meta tags can create either a positive or negative impression on users. Well-crafted meta tags and content affect search rankings and attract interested consumers to click through and browse your page. On the other hand, it also allows the search engine to better understand your page’s content, which enables it to determine its appropriateness and relatability.
Let us give you a more relatable example. If you come across two cartons of milk in the grocery store. The difference is that one has an updated label with all the information you are looking for, and the other has an outdated label with limited to no information. As someone who knows what they are looking for, you are going to purchase the carton of milk with the updated label. It is the same for meta tags. No one is going to click on it if you do not have well-crafted meta tags.
If you find this article through a search engine, the chances are that you clicked it because the meta tags were well-crafted.
The two key components of meta tags
- Title tags: Specifying the webpage’s title
- Meta Description: Summary of your webpage’s content
Title tag
Title tags are the primary HTML element that links to your webpage for visitors and search engines. An ideal title tag or headline has the capability to attract visitors, enticing them to view the targeted page.
To optimise the title tag for the enhancement of your SEO, you might want to consider:
- Keeping titles between 50-60 characters long.
- Include keywords in the title.
- Include action words that answer certain questions.
- Create titles that are eye-catching and stand out from similar contents.
- Improve readability by breaking your title tag up with a colon, question, or bracket.
Google sometimes automatically rewrites your proposed title tags if it determines that there are more suitable alternatives. To prevent this from happening, you may want to try:
- Describe the targeted page’s content as accurate as possible
- Exemplify the qualities visitors are looking for
- Set the title’s focus on encouraging clicks to boost the CTR (click-through rate)
Meta Description
The best practice for crafting a good meta description is to keep it simple but descriptive. With an ideal character limit of 150 to 160, you would want to include target keywords that make sense. You may also choose to highlight certain keywords that are frequently searched to draw visitors’ attention, as well as to help Google to identify the relevance of the page.
One of the key points of a good meta description that people often overlook is the inclusion of a call to action (CTA). The aim of a CTA is to entice them that by clicking on the link, they will benefit from the content of the page itself. Avoid making your CTA sound too salesy and far from the truth, as it will foster distrust in your brand.
Now that we have touched on crafting meta descriptions and title tags, these are the best practices for crafting a good meta tag:
- Targeted Keywords: A well-crafted meta tag includes as many frequently searched keywords as possible. Doing so significantly increases your chances of organic traffic and visibility.
- Compelling CTA: The purpose of a meta tag is to ensure that the targeted page gets clicks. Hence the CTA must create urgency and entice visitors to want to click the link. To do so, the CTA must be specific to the content of the page so that it does not become false advertising.
- Be Unique: Ensure that your title and meta description on each page is not similar and that they use different keywords. That will allow you to reach a wider range of audiences.
Conclusion
A well-crafted meta tag is the key to driving traffic, engagement, and awareness of your website. When done well, it could really make a difference in getting potential customers on board and boost your search results.
Suppose you are looking to increase brand awareness and optimise SEO related components; Impossible Marketing can help you with that. As one of the best SEO agency in Singapore, contact us today to find out more about our range of digital marketing solutions and get started on boosting your brand’s awareness today!