In seo jargon, metadata on your website helps Google’s algorithm determine if the contents of your website are relevant and beneficial to your visitors.
Metadata is the search algorithm’s equivalent of a trailer or highlights reel for your website. It’s what gives context to the material on your website. Without metadata, search engines must assume what your webpage is about, and your site is far less likely to rank well.
If you want to rank high in search engine results, you must inform the search engine crawler about what you have to offer.
The Most Important Metadata Elements
Each metadata element will improve your SERP ranking (search engine result page). There is no such thing as a metadata standard; however, there are several forms of metadata that you should be aware of and incorporate into your site:
Title Tags
The title tag is the first thing that will let the search engine know what your page is about.
The title tag is the headline for the page. It’s one of the first things that will convince the search engine your page is valuable.
The title tag should be descriptive and relevant to the page on your site. It should include the main keyword, but the title tag should also be a complete sentence.
Optimising your title tag is the first step to optimising your site for search engines and improved SEO ranking.
Description Tags (or Meta Description)
The meta description is the summary of your page. It is what will come upon the search result page and is also used by the search engine to determine whether to show the details of your site on the initial result page.
The meta description is a short snippet that describes your site. It is also the part of the metadata that will convince a user to click through on your page.
Headings and Subheadings
The headings on your webpage are another example of metadata.
Headings are important because it helps the search engine understand the context of your page. It allows the search engine to understand if the page is about a specific topic or subject, which helps the search engine index your website pages and significantly improves your page’s SEO.
How to Optimise Your Metadata For Better SEO Ranking
Add a sitemap
A sitemap is like a roadmap of your website. It’s a list of all your web pages and the content that is on each page.
A sitemap helps the search engine crawler understand the context of each page on your site. It gives the crawler a headstart in finding your website content and a faster crawl.
Use keywords in the headings
Headings are essential to help the search engine crawl your site, but the headings should also be optimised for the keywords you are targeting.
Your headings should be short, making it easy for the crawler (and the end visitor) to scan your page. The keywords you are targeting should be used in your headings, making it easier for the search engine to pick up on your page’s topic.
Link your metadata to other essential pages on your website.
The goal for your metadata is to let the search engine crawl your site easily and quickly and improve your site’s SEO. Linking your metadata to your important pages will help the search engine crawl your site faster and give the search engine more context about your site.
Use files names correctly
The file names of the images on your site can also give context to the search engine.
If your site is about dog training, the file name could be “dog_training_photo_of_happy_dog”.
The goal is to get the search engine to understand the context of your site quickly and easily. The file name is also displayed on the search engine result page, so be descriptive and relevant.
Conclusion
Adding the proper metadata to your site will help rank on the search engine results. It will also tell the search engine crawler precisely what your site is about and is a good indicator of whether your site is worth visiting.
At PuttySquared, we aim to give you results through detailed insights and effective digital marketing strategies. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help you.
