Optimizing Metadata: How to Use Tag-Title and Meta-Description for Increased Visibility

1. What are metadata?
2. Metadata and SERPs
3. The most important metadata in your online business
4. How to optimize your metadata step by step
5. When are metadata indexed?
6. Tools for optimizing metadata
7. Conclusion

Maybe you've heard the humble definition before: metadata are data about data. If that's not enough for you and you want to dive even deeper into the meta matter, then you're in the right place. We provide insight into the SEO factor and show you how to optimize title tags and meta descriptions and move your visibility upwards.

What are metadata?

Metadata describe content and make it machine-readable. That's exactly the job of a crawler when it indexes your website on behalf of Google. Text elements, images, videos or entire websites - metadata label this content and help search engine crawlers to evaluate topic and meaning.

Optimizing metadata pays off sustainably. It highlights the added value of your site and makes it conveniently available to the search engine. In the context of your website, metadata are therefore also data for online optimization. We'll describe what these are and how to do this in a moment.

Metadata and SERPs

With SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages), also called Google Snippets, these preview text snippets are meant, which Google displays among other things from the meta tags.

By optimizing this information, namely title tag and meta description, you can't determine your position, but at least start the race for a better ranking.

Graphic: SERP / Source: Own illustration

The most important metadata in your online business

You want to do your ranking a favor? Then first focus on the title tag, as one of the most important ranking factors for Google. The meta description also contributes to attracting users to your site. The description only indirectly influences your place, but is another incentive for visitors and offers - if optimized - clear calls to action (keyword: CTA) which in turn improve your click rate (CTR).

Title tag

The title tag tells the search engine what a website is about. As the name suggests, the title of a page can, but doesn't have to be played out as a title tag.

Google usually uses the following sources for the title tag:

Graphic: Title Tag-Google (Source)

The title tag can be spruced up through editors, in the HTML code, and through special tools - more on that later. In any case, you should note that the title and hence also the title tag exactly match the content of a page. Likewise, the title tag and the meta description must be coordinated. Everything else is not very effective and a waste of time.

Meta-description

With the meta description, you supplement the title tag with more details and provide a concise summary of a page. Professionals are welcome to showcase their talent for storytelling here to arouse the interest of your users.

You don't need to write whole sentences, but can also present the content in keywords. Besides the most important keywords, you can also include other info such as prices, ASCII characters, and emojis.

How to optimize your metadata step by step

Graphic: Optimize metadata

To optimize metadata, you first need to deal with the current stock. That means:

Read existing metadata

Meta tags are domiciled in the source code. In the browser, you can simply view them with a right mouse click and selecting "View Source" or "View page source".

For individual cases, this approach is quite practical. For your entire page, however, it is very time-consuming. In this case, you should have your entire website read out right away. Suitable tools make this particularly uncomplicated. They crawl quickly and thoroughly and show which meta tags are missing, double, too short or too long.

Analyze or determine metadata

To optimize metadata, you have to create them taking into account some rules. Existing titles and descriptions should also be evaluated based on the following optimization tips and tinkered with until they are purposeful and original.

Then you take care of still missing meta tags, so that after this step all indexed pages, title-tag and meta-description including assertiveness.

Tips for optimizing the title tag:

• Pay attention to the length of the title: Max. 55 characters or 600 pixels, including emojis, special characters and spaces
• Each title tag should be complemented with brand or firm wording, ideally separated by a vertical bar: | or hyphen: -
• Sets important incentives to read further
• No duplicates! Whether unconscious or automated, please make sure not to give the same title-tag to each page
• Avoid keyword stuffing and focus on one to max. two keywords

Tips for optimizing the meta-description:

• Optimal length is about 160 characters or 1,000 pixels
• Even here is room for your keywords
• Use the meta-description as a "pitch" for your content
• If the title tag provides a question, then the answer is supplied in the description.
• Offers goodies visibly
• Unicorns stay, duplicates must go
• Structure the text using ASCII characters such as hooks or arrows.
• Close off the description with a meaningful CTA
• Even Google has a say about this:

Meta Description Google Source

You can also use suitable software to support you in this step. They have the most important factors in mind, deliver suitable keyword suggestions, supplement your labels and designations based on text bricks and offer practical preview.

If you don't have a tool at hand, at least create a table in which you enter the page with URL and newly assigned metadata. This way, you have documented the current standard and can revert to it later.

Adapting metadata

Have you tightly defined the right wording? Then you can now enter your metadata. Either directly in the HTML code or through a special snippet tool.

Publish metadata online

Now you can simply update your content pages or HTML codes. Title-tag and meta-description are now online. Lean back or take another look in the new source text.

When are metadata indexed?

After you've done all the work, you're probably wondering when the search engine will re-evaluate your meta-information. Unfortunately, there is no exact answer. Depending on the content management system, your content will be forwarded at different speeds and usually even immediately.

Nevertheless, the crawling may take a few days or even several weeks. Depending on how Google assesses the importance of your website, this can therefore take less or more time. In the Google Search Console, and in the index coverage status report, you can at least see the state.

You can also ask Google to crawl again using the Search Console. How to do this, you'll learn in the Google Search Central. Here, you can read more about how to set up the Google Search Console and what features you have available for search engine analysis.

Tools for optimizing metadata

While the optimization of metadata is not difficult, it becomes lengthy for websites starting at a certain size. If the fun drops, the optimization potential usually does too. At the latest it is time to look for suitable software.

Hereafter we have selected three applications that also score top marks in OMR Reviews by real users. With them, you can not only optimize metadata, but also deal with SEO much more deeply.

SERP Snippet Generator by Sistrix

• Free up to 100 URL queries daily
• Simple tool, particularly suitable for meta-newbies
• Rates title and description in pixel and according to traffic light logic

More information you can find in OMR Reviews and at Sistrix.

Sistrix SERP Snippet Generator (Source)

Ryte

• Includes all important SEO functions
• Provides own metadata performance reports
• For simple meta tag optimization the Google Snippet Generator is free of charge

More information you can find in OMR Reviews and at Ryte.

Ryte Snippet Generator (Source)

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

• Comprehensive crawling software for evaluating SEO data
• Analyzes your website for page-title, meta-description and more
• Provides suggestions and finds missing and duplicate meta entries

More information you can find in OMR Reviews and at Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Conclusion

Optimizing title tag and meta-description is an easy process that integrates well in the editorial operations. Although only the title tag directly affects the ranking, the meta-description also provides reasons why users end up on your website.

In the optimization of your website, always consider content factors such as length, conciseness and provide clear click recommendation. Metadata optimization is just a basic in the context of SEO and still an absolute must-have with great effect!

On OMR Reviews and in our ContentHub you can learn more about SEO audits or Enterprise-SEO-Tools.