The Importance of Metadata

Meta- what? Do you mean Metatron, like the archangel who keeps record of the Universe’s great archive? Not quite. But, like Metatron, metadata, in a sense, provides data for the great universe of search engines. Metadata doesn’t have to be something that makes your head spin and ache. Once you’ve developed a better understanding of it and how to properly use it, you’ll find a newfound appreciation for the value it can add to your website.

What is Metadata?

Metadata is data about data. It is developed to make information easier to find and follow, but that only covers the tip of the iceberg. As you form all pieces of your metadata, it is paramount to focus on what is relevant and important, while also considering your audience. Metadata is composed of the following elements:

Meta Title Tags

Developing meta title tags will help maximize your SEO. Your meta title should be no more than 60-80 characters long. The best meta titles should be kept under 65 characters, as that is around Google’s maximum title threshold. When forming meta titles, having a good list of high-quality keywords becomes very important. The best meta titles begin with the most relevant keywords, product or article name. You may also want to consider including the title of the site or company name to maximize your SEO.

Meta Description Tags

Meta description tags provide a brief description of a web page’s content. A meta description tag is a short description you see underneath the URL that illustrates a page’s purpose. Your meta description should be at least 11 words, but no longer than 160 characters. Your meta description is not necessarily tied to search engine ranking but does have an important effect on your CTR, or click-through-rate. As you gain more clicks, the better your page will rank within search engines. When developing your meta description, be sure to employ keywords that are targeted on the corresponding page. Make sure to create a compelling description that will make someone want to click into your content. Your meta description should be directly relevant to its corresponding page, but should also be unique from your other web pages’ meta descriptions.

Meta keywords

Meta keywords are created by listing what keywords you utilized through your meta title and description. Be sure to use only relevant keywords, though. Your page ranking is at risk of damage if you use too many irrelevant keywords.

Why is it so Important?

Developing metadata is increasingly important for your SEO and page rank. It helps tell search engines what a page’s title and purpose is, and informs searchers what your page is about. People want to be able to access what they need quickly. By developing proper metadata, you are making people’s searches easier. Additionally, you are helping increase your CTR by providing them with the correct information. If someone does not take the time to form their meta description, Google will try to pull out the first bit of content on your page. Sometimes this works out fine and provides the correct information for your viewers, other times it can lead to someone not clicking on your site. By default, this may cause your page rank and SEO to go down. Your meta description and title also helps when describing non-searchable content to search engines, such as video files and images.

How Can You Use it to Your Advantage?

After you have determined which high-quality keywords to target for your site and developed an understanding of how to form metadata, you can implement it onto the backend of your website. The description under each of your searchable pages will look cleaner and more professional. As mentioned before, by implementing this practice, your SEO will benefit, as will your CTR. As these two elements are positively impacted, your search engine page rank will be as well.

Forming metadata often is forgotten about and can be a complex concept, but it is incredibly important for the sake of your SEO. If you want to learn more about metadata, contact Stellar Blue today! Our skillful marketing team is happy to help you optimize the digital reach of your web presence and increase your conversions through our proven SEO methods!

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