Meta data tags are used to specify a page’s title, description, keywords, author and the last time it was modified. They are not displayed on the web page, but are read by search engines and factored into the search rankings. Meta data elements also influence a searcher’s decision to click on a link in the search engine’s results page. For example the Meta description tag is a brief summary of the content on a page and is the information a searcher will see when they search for your website.

By using the MoST content management system it is easy to assign and edit the title, description and keywords on each page of your website. It is an important tool to help search engines understand what each website page is about. This tutorial will show you how edit the title and description.

Page Title tag

You can see a web page title tag on top of your browser above the URL. You can see that the title of this page is “MoST Tutorial – Adding Meta Data to your page”. Most will automatically use the page description as a page title; however it is possible to change this.

Tips:

• Keep to less than 60 characters (below 40, if possible). Google will shorten it if it is more than 60.
• Try to use keywords.
• Try and avoid unnecessary words. Visitors are unlikely to search on words such as 'welcome' or 'home page’.
• Concentrate on the page content - you don’t need to use your company’s name in the page title.

Description tag

The Meta description tag is a brief summary of the content on a page and is the information a searcher will see when they search for your website.

Tips:

• Make the description tag engaging and informative to entice searchers onto your web site.
• An easy way to make description tag is to just take the first sentence or two from the web page and use that.

Keep in mind Meta tags are not a magic solution for SEO but will definitely assist.

Adding Meta Data with MoST

1. Open the page in the editor
2. Click on the “File” menu and select “Properties” from the dropdown
3. In the “Properties” popup add the data to the fields
4. Click on the “Apply” button
5. Save the page before exiting

In the “Properties” popup you can add a page title, Meta description and Meta keywords. This is for each individual page.