The Heart of Meta Tags for SEO: Why Metadata Matters

When it comes to search engine optimization, meta tags sit at the heart of how your website appears in search results. The meta title and meta description are often the first things potential visitors see when your page shows up on Google. These short pieces of metadata summarize your content, guide search engines, and help users decide whether to click on your site. Understanding how meta tags work—and how to write them effectively—can help your website stand out in search results.

These short pieces of metadata summarize your content, guide search engines, and help users decide whether to click on your site. Well-written meta tags for SEO can improve visibility and increase click-through rates from search results.

Is Metadata a Big Deal for My Website and SEO?

The short answer is yes—metadata plays an important role in how your website appears in search results. Meta tags help search engines understand the topic of your page and provide a concise summary that appears in the search engine results page (SERP). For many users, the meta title and meta description are the first introduction to your content.

While search engines like Google can generate their own titles and descriptions, relying entirely on automation can be risky. Google may not always fully understand your business, your services, or the specific focus of an individual page. By writing clear, relevant meta tags, you help guide search engines and present a more compelling description of your content to potential visitors.

What Should Be Included in Meta Tags for SEO?

A summary or highlight of the page utilizing a keyword/phrase. The title should be a maximum of 60 characters and the description should be about 160 characters. Anything longer will get truncated.

In addition to the essence of the page, a business should include the keywords of their products/services associated with the page. But don’t spam the search engines by adding a slew of keywords. The keywords should only be added to the metadata if they are used throughout the web page.

Keep the meta title under 60 characters
Write meta descriptions around 150–160 characters
Include your primary keyword naturally
Match the content of the page
Avoid keyword stuffing

What if I have SEO plugins or an SEO hosting feature/service?

Double check! Don’t rely on an automated process to put your best foot forward. The title and description are sometimes the first things that someone sees about your business.

And if you don’t update your meta tags, what exactly will Google do?

Even if you update your meta tags, Google might re-write the tags for a particular “search term”. Why? They want the results to make sense for the search term. Here’s an interesting video by Google – someone calls in because they have metadata but Google is still rewriting their meta description.

Google’s John Mueller Explains How Meta Descriptions Are Displayed

This John Mueller of Google’s Webmaster Central video addresses this topic. The first question is from an SEO professional asking about why a meta description is displayed perfectly and why it is displayed differently for other search terms. John says that first of all the meta description should be there, but also it has to be relevant – so that Google doesn’t try to re-write. The description can vary based on the query. …very interesting and frustrating!

All of our SEO campaigns check, update, and re-check meta tags.

Meta tags are especially important during a website redesign, when titles and descriptions can accidentally be lost or changed. read more in “How to Maintain SEO During a Website Redesign“

If you’re unsure whether your website’s meta tags are optimized for SEO, an SEO audit can identify opportunities to improve your visibility and click-through rate in Google search results.

Initially published Feb. 2021. 2025 photo credit canva ai.