Now I Get It: Why Metadata Matters to Your Website’s SEO

If you’re a blogger or someone who’s making money online, then you’ve heard the term “metadata” when searching for ways to improve your website’s SEO. If you still don’t know why you need metadata, then stay tuned. We’re going to explain why metadata matters to your website’s SEO, and some quick ways to make it better.

Related Article: What is SEO? Search Engine Optimization

What Is Metadata Anyway?

Metadata is “data that provides information about other data,” according to Merriam-Webster. Sounds boring, but it’s very interesting to Google. Google needs ways to understand your website, in order to rank you. Google is like a library in this way. It has a bunch of information, and it needs to classify it. Metadata helps Google classify the information on your website.

Google uses two important kinds of metadata you can easily influence, the title tag and meta description (the meta keywords tag hasn’t been used by Google since 2009). They’re both placed in the head section of your page’s HTML right up front for Google. The title tag is the name of your page, and it appears above your page’s meta description — if you’ve scored entries in Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). There are also meta robots tags, which instruct Google’s robots how to crawl your site.

How Does Google Use Metadata?

Google looks at the title and meta description of your website to find out about your website and rank you for relevant keyword terms. Of the two, the title is usually considered the most important. If you have a very large site and have to choose what gets attention, make sure you have well-written title tags first.

Related Article: How To Get To the Top Of Google Search Results

What Can I Do to Get Better Metadata?

Remember to write your content to increase click-throughs. Don’t just assign mindless descriptions to your pages. Give your metadata strong calls-to-action. That way, when someone sees your page in Google, you’ve got a better shot at them landing on your website. Lastly, make sure you deliver on whatever promises you make in your copy, or you could face higher bounce rates.

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How Do I Know If I’m Doing It Right?

You can find out whether your metadata violates Google’s policies by setting up a free Google Search Console account. Here are some of the basics to cover:

• Make sure your metadata is high quality; don’t use automated text
• Don’t duplicate your text (Google is watching)
• Give your audience engaging metadata writing that accurately describes your pages
• Write a strong call-to-action; it’s your chance to run a free ad in Google
• Don’t go long; Google changed metadata lengths in December 2017

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