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Google or Bing’s search results are curated from relevant keywords users input in their search tab. These search engines possess internet crawlers that scan through the entire content of multiple internet pages to provide the best results for a user’s query.
Web crawlers realize a web site’s content through the meta tags on the page’s source code. They rank sites by comparing the words within the title, headings, content, and meta tags to see how well the information within matches.
Meta tags that are placed in the header section of a web page help web crawlers correctly define the content of the page. It ensures Google gets adequate information about your website, to help it rank well when a user inputs the right keyword or search phrase.
It is important to note that content contributes most to search engine ranking. Having a meta tag without good content on your web page will not improve your SEO.
What Are Meta Tags?
Meta Tags are excerpts of text describing the content of a web page. They were initially created to provide accurate information about a web page.
Meta tags provide information about the author, description, keywords, type of document, and other central information about a web page. The Meta tags are not visible on the web page itself.
They only exist in HTML and are visible only to search engines or web developers who know where to look.
Types Of Meta Tags And Their Importance
There are four types of meta tags. They are:
- Meta Keyword Attribute
- Title Tag
- Meta Description Attribute, and
- Meta Robot Attribute
Google stopped using the meta keyword to rank search results due to overzealous web marketers looking for page views. These eager marketers would insert keywords unrelated to the content on their page into their code, to pirate traffic from other pages.
Out of the remaining three types of meta tags, Meta Descriptions and Title Tags are still relevant for web pages to get a better SEO ranking. Meta Descriptions and Title Tags may not constitute the content of your site, but Google uses both in displaying/ranking search results.
Your Meta Description essentially serves as a way of encouraging users to visit your page like an ad text. It explains to the search engine and the searcher what your site is about. It is the short description that is shown in a search result.
A page with a meta description has 5.8% higher Click Through Rates when compared to pages without one.
Meta Robot essentially tells the search engine whether to show your page in search results or not (index/noindex), and what to do with the links on your page (follow/nofollow).
How To Write Meta Tags For WordPress
WordPress is the most user-friendly and cost-effective web host in the market. Its eclectic design makes it a leading choice for hosting different types of websites.
Web developers must realize that installation of WordPress does not automatically come with the description meta tag data. You can add meta tags by making changes manually to the Theme templates file.
To automatically add meta tags, you would require a WordPress plugin.
How To Manually Add Meta Tags On WordPress
It is pretty simple to add meta tags manually on WordPress. It is simple for those who have a clear purpose for their website. With a clear purpose, you can use basic information in creating generic meta tags that you will place in your header.
To manually add meta tags on WordPress, follow this guide.
Step 1: Navigate to Settings > General
Step 2: Find the Tagline, and write under it the meta description you want your site to represent.
Step 3: Go to Appearance > Theme Editor. In case you can not see it, you may be required to access your header.php with the use of FTP. Look in the sidebar and locate Theme Header (header.php). Click on it to edit.
Paste your meta tag anywhere between <head> and </head>.
The manual process will add the meta description (tagline) to all the pages on your site.
It is not very appealing for your blog if people do not know what each of your posts is about. You will have to set a unique meta tag for each post/page if your site covers a vast array of topics.
How To Automatically Add Meta Tags On WordPress
Simply install an SEO plugin. These plugins allow the owner of a blog to set descriptions, keywords, and other meta tags uniquely on each post.
With a Meta Tag Plugin, blog administrators can personalize each of their meta tags, and select the ones they want to add, or not on each post. With this feature, plugins enable your meta tags to describe each page adequately.
If you do not know what plugin to use, go to the WordPress Plugin Directory to make your choice. There are so many good WordPress Plugins in the market to help you organize your blog.
Conclusion
If your meta description is not well written and does not target a particular demographic, you will be missing out on clicks on your page for better conversions.
Allowing the search engine to generate your meta description, may not end up as well as you expect. When you take time to write your meta description, you have a chance to pitch the essence of your web page to ensure users are making a well-informed decision by clicking on your site in the search result.
About the Author
Jamie Fry – Purposeful and promising author. At this moment he is working at writing services review companies, as Online Writers Rating and Best Writers Online and enhances his blogging skills. Confidently goes to his goal. He has a talent for writing original content. The main conviction in his life: «To be the best in the field in which you are developing». Always in search of fresh ideas.
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