In this post, we’ll be discussing how to use SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions for your Showit website and WordPress blog. Keep reading for an overview of how to implement SEO titles and meta descriptions.

SEO Titles

SEO titles are titles that show up in search engine results like Google. They aren’t actually visible titles on your website or blog, nor are they page names like “About” or “Services”—they are title tags that are inside the code of your website. Don’t worry though, you won’t have to edit any code if you’re using Showit.

*SEO titles are not the same as your page names that show up in URL’s.

TIPS FOR CREATING YOUR TITLES

-Keep your Page Titles consistent by using the same format for each page.

-Here’s a good format you can use: (Keywords/Keyphrases | Location | Business Name). You can use vertical bars to break it up.

-The first part of SEO titles should be your primary keywords/keyphrases. Google focuses on the beginning of the title the most. Your keywords/keyphrases should be what you think your clients are searching for on Google to find the services you offer.

-If your page/post is location-specific, for example, a post recapping an engagement session, you can include the venue or location in your title as well. This lets Google and users know that the post/page includes a specific location and the goal is to have this post/page show up when users use search terms that include the location your post/page is about.

-Note: You can leave out client names in your SEO titles. Most people won’t be searching for “Ashley and Alex’s Wedding” specifically. But, if I included our wedding venue in the title “Quail Hollow Ranch Wedding” the user is much more likely to find my blog post or web page because they’ll be searching for a well-known wedding venue in Northern California rather than our names. *Remember, your SEO title is not your blog post title, so feel free to add the names of clients in your blog post titles.

-Remember to add your business name at the end of each SEO title. It helps build repetition with Google and is highly recommended.

EXAMPLE PAGE SEO TITLE:

About Page: Meet Ashley | Brand and Showit Website Designer | Ashley Ferreira Design

Services Page: Wedding Photography Services for Couples | Napa, California | Ashley Ferreira Photography

EXAMPLE BLOG POST SEO TITLE:

Serene Lakeside Wedding | Lake Tahoe, California | Business Name

Stunning White and Blush Wedding | Holman Ranch | Carmel Valley, California | Business Name

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE CREATING TITLES:

-Don’t stuff your titles with keywords. Keep in short (50-70 characters) and keep it natural sounding and organic.

-Make it sound interesting.

-While it is recommended to use the same format, make sure every title is unique to that page/post. Don’t just copy/paste and use the same title with the same wording for every page.

Meta Descriptions

This is the short paragraph you see under the title. It’s used as the description or summary of the post/page. Meta descriptions are important because they allow you to organically add more keywords to the search listing. Google will bold any text that matches the keywords in the actual search, so it’s important to keep in mind what your clients are searching for when writing meta descriptions.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE CREATING META DESCRIPTIONS:

-It should be interesting and eye-catching. Think of it as an advertisement.

-It should be unique to every post, Google doesn’t like when the same descriptions are reused on every page.

-Stuffing it with keywords sounds spammy. Include them, but add them in organically.

Adding SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions in Showit

Your Showit SEO settings can be found on the right side of the editor, under “SEO Settings”. This is where you’ll be able to give each of your web pages Titles and Meta Descriptions, as well as add a “Share Image” which is what’s displayed when your page is shared on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.

Note: Meta Keywords are no longer needed, as Google doesn’t use keyword tags to rank webpages anymore.

Adding SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions in WordPress

Before you add your SEO titles and meta descriptions to your WordPress posts, you’ll want to make sure the Yoast SEO plugin is installed, (it comes pre-installed on all tier-2 Showit accounts).

Here’s how you find it:

1. Login to your WordPress dashboard
2. Open the post editor of the post you’d like to start editing
3. Scroll to the very bottom of the post and look for “Yoast SEO”
4. Click “Edit Snippet” under the Snippet Preview
5. Add your SEO title and meta description

Using The Yoast SEO Plugin For Your WordPress Blog

Using the Yoast SEO Plugin with your WordPress blog posts is highly recommended. It gives you valuable insight into how your post is coming along and recommendations on how you can improve it.

The above example shows that the analysis results from this post are met and looking good. If there were things that I still needed to work on, Yoast would let me know by placing a red dot next to the item and give me tips on how to improve it.

MAIN THINGS TO FOCUS ON THROUGHOUT YOUR POSTS:

-Outbound and internal links. It’s important to include links both outside of your website, and internally, for example to other blog posts, freebies, your contact page, etc.

-Keywords/Keyphrase weaved throughout your post, the title, meta description, alt text for images, and headings.

-Images are named using the Alt Text Image Settings section. To find this, simply click on the image and the Image Settings will pop up with an Alt Text section where you can include your image description.

-Content Length: The length of your post’s content matters to Google. Make sure your posts have at least 500 words, Google likes longer posts.

-Readability: Content needs to be easy to read. Google can understand how well-written your content is. So use good English and great grammar.

Head on over to the blog for more tips and tricks on SEO, Showit, Web Design, and Branding.