The benefits of optimising the meta tags in your website

Meta tags are essential elements in optimising your website for search engines and enhancing user experience. These small snippets of text, which include titles and meta descriptions, play a critical role in helping search engines and users understand the content of your pages.

Let’s explore the key benefits of adding and customising meta tags on your website.

1. Improved Search Engine Rankings

Search engines use meta tags, especially titles and descriptions, to determine the relevance and context of a webpage. By customising these tags with relevant and descriptive keywords, you increase your page’s chances of ranking higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). This is crucial for improving visibility and driving organic traffic to your site.

2. Increased Click-Through Rate (CTR)

A well-crafted meta title and description can significantly impact your click-through rate. These tags serve as the first impression users get when they see your page in search results. By making them compelling and informative, you can entice more users to click on your link, which translates to more traffic and potential engagement.

3. Enhanced Branding and Messaging

Meta tags provide an excellent opportunity to reinforce your branding and messaging. By tailoring your meta titles and descriptions to reflect your brand’s tone and value proposition, you can stand out from competitors. This not only improves your online presence but also communicates your website’s purpose effectively to potential visitors.

How to Add and Customise Meta Tags

If you’re using WordPress, the SEO by Yoast plugin is a popular tool to help you optimise meta tags. It allows you to:

• Create unique and descriptive titles for each page or post.
• Write compelling meta descriptions that encourage clicks.
• Preview how your tags will appear in search engine results.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Yoast SEO Plugin for Adding Meta Tags to Your Website

Access the Yoast SEO Meta Box

1. Open the page or post you want to optimise.
2. Scroll down to the Yoast SEO meta box below the content editor.

Customise the Meta Title

1. In the “SEO Title” field, create a unique and descriptive title.
2. Use relevant keywords and ensure it stays within the character limit (typically 50-60 characters).

Write a Compelling Meta Description

1. In the “Meta Description” field, craft a concise and engaging description.
2. Include your primary keyword and aim for a length of 150-160 characters.

Preview Your Meta Tags

1. Use the preview feature to see how your meta tags will appear on search engine results pages.
2. Make adjustments if necessary to ensure they are visually appealing and informative.

Save Your Changes

1. Once satisfied, click “Update” or “Publish” to save your changes.

Test Your Meta Tags

1. Can you see what how your page will look when shared in social media, or in Google’s search results. We suggest using this handy tool that we use on a daily basis https://metatags.io/
2. You can then do further tweaks to make sure it’s looking as best it can be!