A beginner’s guide to meta tags for SEO

As SEO specialists and a Wix Partner, we are asked for help with SEO all the time, but there are some very simple things that you can do yourself  - and meta tags are one of them.

If you’re new to the world of digital marketing, don’t worry! We’ll break everything down in simple, easy-to-understand language - we hate technobabble as much as you do – so that you can get to grips with your own meta tags and how to make sure they are optmised for SEO.

What Are Meta Tags?

Meta tags are small pieces of text that live in the HTML code of your website. They don’t appear on the page itself, but search engines use them to understand what your page is about. Think of them as little hints you give to Google and other search engines to help them index your site properly.

But don’t worry, you don’t have to understand HTML to update these!

Why Are Meta Tags Important for SEO?

Search engines use meta tags to help determine how relevant your content is to a user’s search query. The better your meta tags, the easier it is for search engines to figure out if your page is the right match for someone’s search. This means that well-optimised meta tags can help improve your search engine ranking, making it more likely that people will find your site.

The Key Meta Tags You Should Know About

Now, let’s take a closer look at the most important meta tags you should be using and then we'll show you how to update these in your Wix website:

1. Title Tag

The title tag is one of the most important meta tags for SEO. It tells search engines and users what your page is about in just a few words. This is the text that appears as the clickable link in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Best Practices:

• Keep it under 65 characters to avoid it getting cut off

• Include your primary keywords for that page

• Make it descriptive and enticing to encourage clicks

2. Meta Description

The meta description provides a brief summary of your page’s content. While it doesn’t directly impact your ranking, a well-written meta description can significantly improve your click-through rate (CTR), which can indirectly boost your SEO.

Best Practices:

•   Aim for 150-160 characters

•   Include your primary keywords and a call to action

•   Make it compelling and relevant to the page content

Here's how the Title tag and Meta description look when displayed in Google search results (and you can also see the Favicon here too):

3. Robots Meta Tag

This tag tells search engines what they should and shouldn’t index on your site. For example, if you have a page you don’t want showing up in search results, you can use a robots meta tag to tell search engines to skip it.

Best Practices:

• Use “index” to tell search engines to include the page in search results

• Use “noindex” to exclude the page from search results

4. Heading Tags

An H1 heading tag is one of the most important HTML elements on a webpage as it is used to define the main heading or title of your webpage. It tells both visitors and search engines what the page is about. Think of it as the headline of a newspaper article—it gives a clear indication of the content that follows.

Best Practices:

• It's best practice to use only one H1 tag per page to clearly define the main topic

• Make sure your H1 accurately reflects the content of the page

• Incorporate primary keywords, but don't overdo it

• Your H1 should be brief yet informative—around 20 to 70 characters is usually ideal.

How to Add Meta Tags to Your Wix Website

Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

To add meta tags for a specific page:

1. Click on "Edit Site" to go to the Wix Editor from your Dashboard

2. On the left side, click on the Pages icon to view all your site's pages.

3. Hover over the page you want to edit, then click on the three dots next to the page name and select SEO basics as per the menu shown here.

4. Complete the Title tag and Meta description sections for each page and choose whether or not to let search engines index the page.

Repeat this action for all pages on your website, following the same steps as above.

To update H1 Heading Tags

Open the Wix Editor for your website then:

1. Highlight the main heading on your page.

2. Click Edit Text to open the text settings box

3. Ensure that Heading 1 is chosen under Style

And remember, each page should have only one Heading 1.

Final Thoughts

Meta tags might seem like a small detail, but they are incredibly powerful when it comes to improving your website’s SEO. By taking the time ensure that all of your pages (including your blog) have optimised metadata, you’re giving your website a much better chance of standing out in search results.

Remember, SEO is all about helping people find the great content you’re creating. So, start with these basics, keep learning, and watch as your site climbs the ranks.

If you need any extra help with your meta data, Web Goddess offers SEO Audits and Reviews as well as ongoing management alongside our website design services – so just give us a call to find out more!