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Did you know that meta titles and descriptions are the first thing

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search engines read?

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They act as the storefront sign of your business.

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If they're not clear, concise, and attention-grabbing,

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people are less likely to come inside.

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In this lesson, you'll learn how to identify,

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fix, and improve meta elements.

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These let search engines know what your page is about and incentivize

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users to click through your search results.

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Meta elements, also known as meta tags,

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are snippets of code located in the head section of a page.

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They are mainly used to specify web elements such as page title,

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description, author, and more.

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They're important because they give search engines the

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information they need to understand what your

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site is about.

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And as you probably know by now, the more context you give

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search engines, the better it is for your

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website search results.

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Let's start with the most common and important meta tags,

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titles, and descriptions.

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A meta title is the headline that appears in the search engine

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results page or SERP

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and in the navigation tab. It tells search engines what your page is

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about and its main purpose.

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Meta titles should be under 60 characters,

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so they display fully in SERPs.

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They need to be keyword rich, clear, engaging,

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persuasive, and unique for each page.

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For example, a meta title for a page around Best Dogs for

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Apartment could be "Top 10 Dog Breeds for Apartment Living."

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It's a meta title that's keyword rich,

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short, and concise.

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A meta description is the descriptive subtitle that appears

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in the search results page below the meta title.

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It helps users know what to expect before they click the link,

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and it gives search engines more information about the page.

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Meta descriptions should be under 160 characters,

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so they display fully in SERPs.

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They need to be keyword rich,

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descriptive, use strong verbs and action words and be unique

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for each page.

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For example, an appropriate meta description for the dogs for

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apartment page would be "Looking for the best dog for

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your apartment?

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Check out our list of the top ten dog breeds that are well-suited

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for apartment living."

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This meta description tells users what to expect,

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explains why they should click, and it's clear and concise.

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Now that you know these best practices,

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go through your website crawl and review your existing

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meta titles and descriptions for each URL.

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If you find a meta title or description that needs

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to be rewritten,

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assign the best keyword for each URL and write a new one.

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You could also prompt an AI tool with

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create a meta title and meta description for the keyword,

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your keyword for a page about your page topic.

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If you have a site with lots of URLs,

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choose the top few that bring the most traffic and start with those.

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I know it feels like a lot, but as you get familiar with

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managing and creating meta elements,

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you'll consider them the easiest and most effective task to

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complete in your WordPress SEO setup.

