Agencies often use lingo without telling you want it means, leaving you hoping that through the lingo the agency will deliver you results. One of the frequently asked questions we get is: ‘What is SEO and metadata?’
When Shuttle Rocket writes a blog post or web page for you, you’ll get a Word document from us with the copy. At the top of the post or each page will be a table with some red writing: ‘Title’, ‘Description’, ‘Keywords’ and ‘Image’ on the left and the corresponding text on the right. The right-hand side text is collectively called ‘metadata’, and it plays a major role in boosting your business’ search engine page rank.
The ‘title’ and ‘description’ are visible to web users in the search results, but once they click through to your page, the metadata is hidden. This is because metadata, like ‘keywords’, are kept behind the scenes in the HTML code.
How does metadata work?
We can tell you what metadata and SEO (search engine optimisation) are until the cows come home, but because you want what’s best for your business, you should next want to know how does metadata work.
Metadata are words and phrases we ask web developers to write into your website’s code. These words and phrases are read by search engines, such as Google. Using SEO techniques, we select the words and phrases your customers are likely to search for, and Google uses these ‘keywords’ to find your site and rank it in their search results.
Why is metadata important in SEO?
SEO is the main way to increase how high your site ranks in search results. The metadata we create for you will communicate this vital information to search engines and users. It demands specific action from the search engines, such as helping the search engine’s algorithm to easily establish how relevant your website’s content is in relation to the search terms your customer has used.
For example, ‘title tags’ are a kind of metadata. Title tags are important because if well-written they grab the attention of visitors using relevant keywords. Keyword titles persuade visitors to click on your page because it contains the content they’re looking for.
Some websites aren’t optimised and metadata hasn’t been included. This makes it hard for content to be found and used. If you’re not sure about your website’s SEO and metadata, or want a SEO refresh, contact Shuttle Rocket now.