You decide to add keywords and meta description for WordPress content? Keywords and page descriptions allow you to improve your site's SEO. In this article, we will show you how to properly add keywords and meta descriptions in WordPress.

Why Add Keywords and Meta Descriptions in WordPress

Keywords and descriptions allow you to tell search engines more about your content in posts and pages.

Keywords are the important words or phrases that people would most often search for if they were looking for the content you post. The meta description is short description the essence of your page or post.

Meta tags are regular HTML tags that are placed in the header of your site. WordPress SEO plugins make it very easy to add tags through the admin for each of the content on the site.

How important are keywords and descriptions for SEO?

Search engines do not disclose exactly how much weight they assign to keywords or descriptions. However, these elements are obviously important enough to help you rank.

Some SEO experts believe that keywords are not important at all. Even Google itself speaks of their insignificance. However, other experts disagree and encourage users to keep adding keywords.

On the other hand, meta descriptions are extremely important because they can grab the attention of users.

Let's see how easy it is to add keywords and meta descriptions in WordPress.

Note: In this article, we will be looking at the Yoast SEO plugin.

Enable meta keys support in Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO has built-in support for descriptions and keywords. However, the add keys feature is disabled by default.

You will need to enable it for your site.

To do this, go to the page SEO » Console and click on the ‘Features’ tab.

Now click on 'Enabled' under 'Advanced settings pages' and then save your changes.

The Yoast SEO settings page will reload and you will see a lot more options in the SEO menu.

Moving to a page SEO » Titles and metadata and select the 'Other' tab.

Now click on ‘Enabled’ under ‘Use meta keywords tag?’ and save the changes.

You have successfully enabled meta keys support in Yoast SEO plugin. Now you can add them to your posts and pages.

Keywords and descriptions for WordPress posts/pages

To get started, go to editing the desired page, and then scroll it to the ‘Yoast SEO’ block under the post editor.

You'll see your site's title and auto-generated snippet description. Below it will be the Meta Keywords field.

In it, you need to specify the desired keywords, separating them with commas. Do not use more than 10 keywords or phrases.

Also make sure that the keywords you specify are relevant to your content and that you have already used them in your article.

It is important that you use your primary keyword in your description at least once.

When finished, click on the ‘Close Snippet Editor’ button. Now you will see your own description in its preview mode.

Add keywords and meta description for the main page

You can also add keywords and meta description for home page your WordPress site. Here's how to do it with the Yoast SEO plugin.

Let's go to the page SEO » Titles and metadata and select the 'Home Page' tab. Here you can add your own title, description and meta keys for the main page.

Do not forget to click on the appropriate button to save the changes made.

Meta keys and descriptions for category archives

You can add keywords and descriptions to category and tag archive pages.

First go to the page Posts » Categories. Hover your mouse over the category you want to edit, and then click on the "Edit" link.

This will open the category editor page, which we scroll down to the Yoast SEO block.

Click on the ‘Edit Snippet’ button and enter a description for the category.

You will then need to click on the "Settings" button to specify the meta keys to be used for that particular category archive page.

To learn how to properly write keywords in the title, you need to think in advance and prepare the keywords intended for each page of the site.

There are rules that you just need to follow, and then the result will not be long in coming. So, you need to decide how and where to write keywords?

1. The title line should not exceed 250 characters. The title should be short enough.
2. should not be consumed more than three times.
3. Words that are repeated should have different endings.
4. Try to avoid words that are located next to words that have the same root. It is optimal to use other, additional words between them.
5. The first in the line should be words that show the importance and usefulness of what is being described.
6. The keywords that are included in the Title must be in the title of the page, as well as at the beginning of the text of this page. The text should be moderately filled with keywords.

What needs to be done to make the keyword appear in the Title?

First you need to open the menu manager, and then make a choice by the type of menu, where the link to your page is located. A list of items will appear in front of you. Now you need to select the item that matches specific page with which you want to work. On the right you will find a link - "Page display options", by clicking on which a submenu will open. Here you need to find the line - "Headings in the browser", where the keywords are written. After that, they will appear in the Title line. The rest of the fields are left blank.

In addition, you can fill in the "Metadata" item. To do this, select an item with that name, and then fill in the first two fields. The rest will be filled in automatically.

If you have pages that you are not interested in searching for, and they do not contain keywords, then in the "Metadata" item, select the "No Robots, No Follow" option.

Often, while spending time on forums and in the communities of Webmasters and optimizers, I notice how many people ask the same questions, start arguing about the topic - is it necessary to fill in meta tags, in particular keywords? It is very difficult to answer the interlocutor in a nutshell to this question, so I will try to explain everything “on my fingers”, in a new topic.

Do I need to fill in keywords

I will say right away that keywords you can fill it in or you can leave it blank. In both cases, you will not see the difference - I will explain why later. And it makes no sense to analyze the TOP-10, there is no logic here and you won’t be able to prove something.

To a greater extent, I would like to analyze the question of when this tag is used and make mistakes. In some cases, they can only worsen the visibility of your site.

Okay let's see Why is it not necessary to complete keywords meta tag? Back in the distant past, when search algorithms were simpler than they are now, SEOs filled in this tag in order to help search engines understand what is on the page or what the text is about.

Soon, Webmasters began to abuse the use of keywords in this meta tag. And over time, the importance of keywords has been reduced. Today, in sufficient quantities, there are new ranking factors, higher quality.

Yes, in the Yandex documentation for the Webmaster, you will read that keywords will help the PS better understand the content of the page. But filling will not give you an advantage over your competitors. Since the usefulness of the content does not change from this and "weighty and meaningful" keywords tag cannot be considered.

As I said, working on a site is a series of actions that work in a complex. Filling in the keywords tag can only be a "small plus" in common work big system.

Common mistakes in using keywords

And if you still decide to use meta tags, let's do it right. Let's consider the main mistakes that optimizers or Webmasters (performers) make. All options, real examples that I came across while working with client sites.

1. Repeat keywords on all pages

In this scenario, the performer selects "general" keywords that describe the subject of the entire site and inserts it on all pages.

Rule number 1: each page of your resource is unique, so keywords must be unique as well.

2. Spam keys on one page

"Classic of the genre" - the performer selects a footcloth from a "ten" keywords, using the main key, using various complementary words and changing the order of the keys in the bunch. It is more painful to watch when this option is used together with the first example that I gave at the beginning.

Rule #2: big number keywords in keywords, can only lead to sanctions from search engines, but in no way will make your site better. It is enough to use 2-3 keywords.

3. Punctuation marks

Sometimes it is found that each word is separated by a comma. Or vice versa - they put words without commas, where this trend came from, I don’t understand.

Rule number 3: the keyword is not necessarily one word, more often it is a phrase of several words, which is separated by a comma.

4. Keys of a general nature

AT this case use single words that have too broad a meaning or concept.

Rule #4: Be more specific with keywords using phrases.

5. Use of keywords on service pages

The artist uses keywords on pages such as:

• contacts;
• Feedback;
• About Me;
• gallery;
• and a number of other pages that do not have the goal of attracting a visitor.

Rule #5: In fact, the page data is already unique and low-frequency, so there is no need to use keywords. What's more, by using generic keywords, you're creating cannibalization on your site's pages.

6. Target action on the page

As is known, search engines divide information into segments. Suppose a performer sells something, but does not use a commercial key in the key.

Rule number 6: on a certain page of your site, a person performs an action: learns something, downloads, buys, orders, watches (photos and videos) and so on. Use keywords for the purpose and action the user needs to take.

7. Keywords using region

It happens that they use keys with a list of cities on commercial resources located in the immediate vicinity where a product is sold or a service is provided.

Rule number 7: there is no need to specify the region in keywords, for this search engines take data from other sources, for example, Yandex.Directory.

How to fill out

That's all for me, I want to add that today you can use it on one page synonym keys having the same meaning for the user. For example, order sushi at home and sushi delivery- the meaning does not change.

Summing up, if you are in doubt and do not know how to correctly fill in keywords, it is better to leave this meta tag empty.

Today, I continue to fill in this tag. I use 2-3 keywords, copying them using Yandex.Wordstat - keyword statistics.

If you have something to add, or you have your own opinion on this topic, let's discuss it in the comments.

Title, Description, Keywords - these terms confuse every novice blogger and Internet entrepreneur.

I remember once I looked up the meanings of these words on Google. After reading more than a dozen articles and doing a lot of experiments, I studied meta tags in great detail.

As a result, having learned how to correctly compose meta tags for my blog, I was dumbfounded by the results (no exaggeration).

In this article, I will save you time: you will learn what meta tags are, why they are needed and how to compose them correctly.

But there is another side of the coin: spam of this tag. Remember, the title is primarily written for people.

⛔ An example of an unsuccessful Title:

How to travel to Asia fast cheap tickets trips China Japan

✅ An example of a good Title:

How to travel to Asia: all the details including tickets, accommodation, food

👍 Ideal option:

How to go to Asia and not regret it (tickets, accommodation, etc.)

Secret #2. intrigue

Your title should not only contain search queries, but also arouse people's keen interest.

The logic is simple:

The more intriguing your headline is, the more people will come to the site. Seeing the interest on the part of users, search engines will begin to raise its position. The higher the site in the issue, the more successful it is.

Impressive statistics: the first three sites from organic results receive 61.5% of all clicks. Therefore, try not to get into the top ten, but into the top three.

But how do you write a really catchy title?

Here are some tips:

1. Add numbers and percentages to the title. For example: 10 Tips for... ; 5 reasons why...; Top 3...
2. Use the following adjectives and adverbs: Effective , Flying , Incredible , Non-standard , How , Step by step , Simple , Easy , Quick .
3. Try to make people feel strong emotions when reading your headline.

Most importantly, take the time to write eye-catching headlines. Always remember the words of the "father of advertising" David Ogilvie:

After I wrote a more intriguing title for an article about plugins, search click through rates went up a lot:

Secret #3. Ideal length

Your title must not exceed 60 characters. Otherwise, search engines will cut it off at the 61st letter on their own.

Ideal: Stick to a range of 50 to 60 characters.

Too short a title in most cases looks unconvincing.

Compare for yourself:

How to write a title tag

Websites powered by WordPress have one interesting detail:

The title of the article is automatically duplicated in the Title. If you really want to increase website traffic, you need to write the title of the page yourself.

Blogging, earnings on the Internet, blog monetization.

Now you know literally everything about meta tags and are one step closer to success. If you think this article can be useful to others, please share it on social networks.

It doesn't matter if you have the site structure on a real site or in your head, here's what you need to do:

• Analyze competitors. In 99% of cases, you are not the first in the market. Therefore, you will find a couple of competitors in the TOP in a few clicks.
• Brainstorm. You can collect all the ideas of the main keys first at a meeting with colleagues - with the sales or marketing department
• Build a hierarchy of potential pages logically. Here, usually all sites have the following structure:

Page	Description
Main page	Contains the main key according to your semantics. Denotes most often the profile of the company.
Services Page	Contains subpages for each major service being sold.
Product Category Pages	May be divided into subcategories. They can be broken down according to different logic - by application (for which group), by brand, by type of product.
About us page	Often this is a branded page with a description of the company. It usually contains additional links to individual brand pages, partner products, and documentation.
Partner pages	Most often, information for dealers, suppliers and vacancies are posted here.
Pages for clients	Often it is listed here. helpful information for clients (FAQ), links to promotional offers, terms of delivery and payment, privacy information, reviews, portfolio.
News or blog section	This section contains articles divided into categories. News categories are selected according to popularity and logic.
Personal Area	If your site involves registration and it has a registration / login / internal "admin" page for the client, then usually the internal section is closed from indexing, except for the login / registration pages.
Contacts	Often this is a separate page with all forms of communication.

Putting together a matrix of keywords

Take the query associated with this article "keywords".

Initially, the tactics will be as follows:

• Choosing synonyms.
• We analyze competitive pages by high-frequency (HF) synonyms.
• We collect low-frequency tails for our words.

Choosing synonyms

At first, this may seem like the easiest thing to do. Here are some synonyms that fit our category:

• promotion keys
• keywords
• key phrases
• keyword
• keywords
• semantic core

Synonyms (or markers)- these are keywords that can be present on the page of your site, coexisting with each other. For example, it could be an electric razor and an electric razor, or a keyword and a keyword.

You can easily pick up synonyms by examining the results of Google search results. Just drive in right word into a search engine and scroll through the results, studying the snippets. Or read articles in your field and master the jargon.

We analyze competitors

To do this, you can use SerpStat.com or Ahrefs.Com position analysis services.

We use our request and find competitors.

Then we select individual competitors and use the search on the Internet using search queries

site:Competitor Name “Keyword”

For example, on the first site we see the following result:

As a result, only pages of a competitor that has already written content for these phrases are visible in the SERP.

After checking the keywords in the SERP, we will see high-frequency phrases.

The most high-frequency phrases need to be written out and saved.

Expanding the semantic core

But what if you have a very high frequency request? Ours is just like that. In this case, you should go to the step clustering- probable breakdown of groups of keys for different pages. So you need to parse all the keys for us together.

Initially, we will use the Wordstat service.

Let's find additional clues for the query "keywords".

In addition to these resources, you can use others:

• Keyword Planner. You will need an active AdWords account to work.
• AnswerthePublic.com is a powerful low frequency tail collection service.
• Ubersuggest.io is a similar service for collecting key tails.
• Keywordtool.io is one of the few services that can collect semantics from Bing, Amazon and YouTube.
• Ahrefs is a powerful key collection service. Of the minuses - targeting only the country. You can't target the city. Removes many useful SEO metrics.

Looking for more clues

Use Ahrefs to rate keyword difficulty. Simply add your list of keywords to the service in the "Keyword Analysis" section.

In the finished result, study:

1. KD (Keyword Difficulty) - the lower the better for you.
2. Similar topic. Expand the stock of keywords in this group.

Please note that the collection of metrics is paid. Keep track of the number of consumed metrics in the service.

Choosing a heading key

The final step in compiling the semantic core is writing the correct page title.

findings

• Study competitors and analyze their structure. You can use any of the 25 free keyword research tools.
• Build a keyword matrix. Use our calculator to find ideas.
• Cluster semantics. Use the above solutions for clustering semantics.

The semantic core is only the initial stage in SEO promotion. You can read the full version of the course.