We’ve all seen those incessant marketing blogs who every week tell you that you’re doing your SEO wrong – and that you should probably follow their advice on the latest gimmicky trick. That is until the next week when they tell you that actually there is now an even better way…then an even better way…and then an even better way. Well, sometimes SEO doesn’t have to be that complicated. If you ensure that you do a handful of things right – your SEO is going to be on the right track. One of the easiest things to get right is meta-data. If you don’t know what meta-data is head over to our ultimate beginners guide to SEO to brush up on some knowledge. Now we’re going to get into the nitty gritty on how you can craft perfect meta-data to boost your SEO.
The perfect length
So while there used to be the “perfect” length for your meta titles and descriptions, this is simply not the case anymore. Search engines actually value meta-data that provides the most relevant, coherent information instead of what is closer to the optimal length. However for the sake of numbers, the recommended length for meta descriptions is 50 – 160 characters and for meta titles it’s 50 – 60 characters. Again, numbers aren’t what you should put all of the importance on, it’s the content that should carry the most weight.
The perfect words
We’ve spoken alot about keywords here on our blog – particularly in our essentials for SME SEO blog posts. However, having keywords in your meta-data isn’t enough. It needs to: at it’s minimum make sense, and at it’s best give users enough relevant information to want to click on your website. Sometimes we find the most effective words are the most straight-forward. Avoid flowery language and over the top metaphors – just tell users what they need to know and why they should click on your website instead of the other million out there. To do this make sure you drop in a USP or two and you should be good to go.
The perfect tone
Think about how you want your business to come across. Is it open and casual? Formal and professional? Or light-hearted and whimsical? This is important because you need this to come across in your meta-data. Otherwise, your meta-data will be representing a completely different business to the one that shines through on your website. Although meta data is considered for “robots” who scan your website, you also have to remember it’s what’s going to showcase your website to new users on search engines too. Make it enticing, but more importantly make it authentic.
