{"id":662,"date":"2017-01-13T15:22:20","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T15:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thinkcre8.co.uk\/cre8-blog\/?p=662"},"modified":"2018-07-04T09:30:32","modified_gmt":"2018-07-04T09:30:32","slug":"how-important-is-meta-information-for-seo-and-accessibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thinkcre8.co.uk\/cre8-blog\/how-important-is-meta-information-for-seo-and-accessibility\/","title":{"rendered":"How important is meta-information for SEO and accessibility?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With many businesses wanting to rank higher organically in search results, they need to make sure that their web pages are fully optimised with meta-information which is correct and includes relevant keywords. But what is meta-information and why is it important?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What is a Title Tag?<\/h2>\n

The first main component, important for SEO and accessibility for your website, is the \u201cTitle Tag\u201d. The Title Tag is unique<\/strong> to every page, shows up in search results as the blue link and can be up to 70<\/strong> characters long, although the optimal length of a Title Tag is around 50-60<\/strong> characters<\/strong>; shorter Title Tags mean that Google will show the majority of your titles in the search results.<\/p>\n

To implement the Title Tag into a page of your website, you use the code <title>Enter title of your page here<\/title> <\/strong>within the HTML code. You can see the HTML of your site page by clicking Ctrl+U.<\/p>\n

\"Title<\/a>
Title Tag for Metal Cages and Pallets within the HTML code.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Title<\/a>
Title Tag for CRE8 showing in the Google search results<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Title Tag tells the user and Google what that web page is about, and must be relevant to that web page otherwise you could be penalised in the Google search rankings.<\/p>\n

The Title Tag can be different from the title of the web page itself and we recommend that it\u2019s optimised for key search terms that you want to rank for. So for example, if you wanted to rank for a term that your target audience is frequently searching Google for, such as \u201cPet Shop Wigan\u201d <\/em><\/strong>you would include that key term in your Title Tag on the relevant web page relating to that keyword, and definitely also on your business\u2019 home page.<\/p>\n

Why is a relevant Title Tag important?<\/h3>\n

An example of this is a mock up for family run financial management company, Simple Solutions.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Title<\/a>
Title Tag for Simple Solutions showing in the Google search results with the pipe separating keyword and brand name.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other uses of the Title Tag<\/h3>\n

Not only will your Title Tag show up on the search results, but the Title Tag will also be added to the browser window or tab of your website so users can see what the page is about.<\/p>\n

\"Title<\/a>
Title Tag showing for CRE8 in the browser tab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Title Tag will also show up if you share your content on social media where \u2018Open Graph\u2019 is enabled. Open Graph previews a web page when linked on social media and makes your social media posts more neat and professional. You can enter the same Title Tag as before but this time into Open Graph, to be shared on social media so that people know what the link they are clicking on is about. Once Open Graph is installed, you can press Ctrl+U to access the HTML code and to view your Open Graph code. An example of this is Metal Cages and Pallets<\/a> social media.<\/p>\n

\"Title<\/a>
Title Tag showing for Metal Cages & Pallets Facebook feed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Title<\/a>
Title Tag for Metal Cages and Pallets within the HTML code.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From an accessibility point of view, the Title Tag will be read out to people using screen readers, who ordinarily would not be able to see your website. The Title Tag will allow users to understand what the content on each page relates to.<\/p>\n

What is a Meta-description?<\/h2>\n

The \u201cMeta-description\u201d provides a short (160 characters) <\/strong>description of content on the page. This shows up in search results and is indexed by search engines. The Meta-description is vital for your website as it tells people who are searching on Google what your web page is about; if it\u2019s relevant to what they are searching for they will be more likely to click on it.<\/p>\n

\"Title<\/a>
Title Tag for CRE8 showing in the Google search results<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keywords that you include in your Meta-description will also appear bold when the user searches for that key term on Google.<\/p>\n

The Meta-description may also be shown in your social media feeds when sharing content, providing more information to the user about the link they may be clicking on where you have entered this into the Open Graph code within the HTML.<\/p>\n

For accessibility, a screen reader will read out the Meta-description to users who are unable to see the page so they can understand what the page is about.<\/p>\n

Avoid keyword stuffing your Meta-information<\/h3>\n

\u201cKeyword stuffing\u201d means fitting too many keywords into your content and Meta-information in a way which is unnatural to a reader. Its main goal is to improve search rankings rather than provide what the user wants.<\/p>\n

Many businesses in the past have tried to trick Google by stuffing keywords into their Title Tag and Meta-description in the hope of gaining a higher ranking in the Google search results. Not only has Google become stricter on keyword stuffing but Google wants content which is written in a natural way for humans to read and enjoy, and not for the sole reason of ranking more highly.<\/p>\n

Negatives of keyword stuffing<\/h3>\n

If your website has been found to overuse keywords within the content on your website or landing page or in the website\u2019s Meta-information, then some of the consequences you could face include:<\/p>\n