Meta Tags

What are Meta Tags?

Meta Tags are HTML elements in the `` section of a webpage that provide meta information about the page content. They are not visible to website visitors, but they influence how search engines interpret the page and how it appears in search results. The most important meta tags for SEO are title tag, meta description, and robots meta tag.

For B2B websites, meta tags are critical for click-through rate (CTR) - they decide whether a user clicks on your website when it appears in search results.

Meta Tags in B2B Context

In B2B, CTR is enormously important. A better title and meta description means more clicks, more traffic, and more leads. A website could rank at position 3, but if the title and description are poor, it gets fewer clicks than the website at position 5 with better meta tags.

Furthermore, well-optimized meta tags signal to Google that you are professional and relevant - which ultimately also leads to better rankings.

The Most Important Meta Tags for SEO

Title Tag - The Most Important Meta Tag

Title Tag is the heading shown in the Google SERP and appears in the browser tab. It is a ranking factor and critical for CTR.

Best practices for title tags:

• Length: 50-60 characters (Google truncates longer). Mobile: even shorter (40-50)
• Keyword at the beginning: Target keyword should be at the beginning
• Meaningful: Title should clearly show what's on the page
• Brand at the end: Add brand name at the end (separated with |, -, or parenthesis)
• Unique: Each page should have a unique title
• No keyword stuffing: Don't repeat the same keyword multiple times

Examples:

• Good: "Best CRM Software for Sales Teams 2024 - Leadanic"
• Not good: "CRM Software CRM CRM Best CRM"

Meta Description - The CTR Lever

Meta Description is the short description shown below the title in the SERP. It is not a direct ranking factor, but critical for CTR.

Best practices:

• Length: 150-160 characters (Google shows about 155-160 on desktop, less on mobile)
• Sales copy: Description should be compelling - why should someone click?
• Call-to-action: "Learn more", "Try now", "Free download"
• Unique: Each page should have a unique description
• Include keyword: The search term appears bold in the SERP if it's in the description
• Not too salesy: Users search for information, not sales pitch

Example:

<meta name="description" content="Implement CRM software for better customer relationships. Our guide shows steps, best practices, and common mistakes. Free download.">

Robots Meta Tag

Robots Meta Tag tells search engines how the page should be treated:

<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">

Common values:

• index, follow: Index the page and follow links (standard, optional)
• noindex, follow: Don't index but follow links
• index, nofollow: Index but don't follow links
• noindex, nofollow: Neither index nor follow links

For B2B websites, most pages should be "index, follow". Only pages like login, thank you pages, or duplicates should be "noindex".

Viewport Meta Tag

Viewport Meta Tag is essential for mobile responsive design:

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

This tells the browser that the page is mobile-responsive. Without this tag, the website appears too large on mobile and is not readable.

Open Graph and Twitter Card Meta Tags

Open Graph Tags control how your page looks when shared on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter):

<meta property="og:title" content="Page title"> <meta property="og:description" content="Description"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/image.jpg"> <meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page/">

For B2B, this is important - a good og:image with logo and title leads to more shares and traffic from LinkedIn and other social networks.

Content-Type and Charset Meta Tags

Content-Type and Charset should always be defined:

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">

Modern way (HTML5):

<meta charset="UTF-8">

This tells the browser and search engines that the content is UTF-8 encoded (standard for international websites).

Canonical Meta Tag

Canonical Meta Tag is technically not a "meta tag" but related:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/original-page/">

See Canonical Tags for details.

Optimize Meta Tags: Practical Process

• Audit: Use tools like Yoast or Moz to see which titles/descriptions are problematic
• Prioritization: Focus on high-traffic keywords first
• Keyword integration: Build target keywords naturally into title and description
• A/B testing: Use Search Console to see which titles get better CTR
• Updates: Regularly update underperforming meta tags

Meta Tags and Click-Through-Rate (CTR)

The connection is strong: Good meta tags = better CTR. Better CTR = Google sees that users prefer your page = better rankings.

Tests of large B2B websites show: Title and description optimization can improve CTR by 20-40%.

Common Meta Tag Mistakes

• Same title/description for all pages: Each page needs unique tags
• Too long or too short: Title under 30 characters will likely be expanded by Google, over 70 truncated
• Keyword stuffing: Repeating a keyword multiple times damages rankings
• Making promises that aren't kept: Description lures clicks but page doesn't deliver what was promised
• Outdated meta tags: When page is updated, don't forget to update meta tags
• Noindex accidentally set: Block important pages with noindex

Meta Tags Monitoring

In Google Search Console you can see:

• Which meta tags Google shows (SERP preview)
• CTR for different pages
• Average position for different keywords

Use this data to identify and optimize underperforming meta tags.

Meta Tags as Part of On-Page SEO

Meta tags are a critical part of on-page SEO. With title and meta description, you optimize not just for rankings but also for user clicks. A website with poor meta tags will always get less traffic than it deserves.

At Leadanic's SEO optimization, meta tag audit and optimization are part of our standard process for better rankings and CTR.