We previously explained why Google has certain search engine optimization rules when it comes to title tags. In this post, we’ll go explain why Google rewards Web pages with great SEO rankings that do certain things with your meta tags. You may have never heard of meta tags, but if you’ve ever done a Google search, you’ve seen them. Meta tags are the one or two sentences that appear under the URL when a Website is found and listed on Google’s search results page. They play an important role in getting great SEO rankings.
It’s pretty easy to see why the meta tag can be important. It’s the short one or two sentence description that appears for every Website on Google’s search results page. Meta tags are often the first thing Web users will read about your site after the title and URL. And just as print ad headlines and copy have evolved onto something of an art form, there are some rules and techniques that SEO rankings professionals like to stick to when writing meta tags. Here are what Google lists as the basics to writing good meta tags for great SEO rankings and what we have to say about each technique:
- Do not have meta tags that have no relation to the Web page’s content
This should be a no-brainer, right? But sometimes people will try to trick Google into thinking their Web page is about something popular (for example, baseball) when it’s really about something else (for example, selling suspicious get-rich-quick schemes). Google is increasingly skilled at telling if the meta tags are relevant to the rest of the page. And if they are, then you’re fine. If they’re not, then you may find yourself on Google’s blacklist and lose SEO rankings.
- Do not use general descriptions like “My Web page” or “My Web site”
Google’s smart, but it’s not psychic. If you meta tag is too vague, Google will have trouble figuring what its about. That means less SEO rankings for your Website.
- Do not use only keywords in the description
Some people think that if they can list a bunch of words or phrases that people commonly search for, they’ll get great SEO rankings. Those people are wrong. Google likes it when meta tags are complete sentences. The best meta tags are those that are sentences that include targeted keywords. But even a meta tag that is simply a short sentence with no keywords is better than a long list of keywords.
- Do not copy the entire content of the Webpage into the meta tag
Meta tags are meant to be short and sweet. When they appear on Google’s search results page, most are only one or two lines long. And that’s the way Google wants it. A meta tag that’s too long will be overlooked and your SEO rankings will suffer.
- Do not use the same description tag more than once
It may be tempting to just copy and past the same meta tag to all your pages, but unique tags that clearly describe the content on every page will result in better SEO rankings. Really, it’s worth it.
