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What are meta tags? How to add meta tags in WordPress?

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Do you know why you are reading this particular article? We know!

You are reading it because we have correctly added the meta tags to this blog. As a result you could find it when you entered your query into the search bar. Well, or you just like to read us.)

So, today we will look at what these meta tags are, how to add meta tags in WordPress correctly and what they can give your site.

Let us know if you need Wishdesk WordPress website support agency help. We will help you set up your website quickly and at an affordable price.

What are meta tags?

Meta tags are short texts, short HTML code chunks that help search engines understand your page and the information on it.

Accordingly, if you add meta tags in WordPress correctly, then search engines will display your page for users.

Otherwise, your page will get lost among thousands of others.

Add meta tags in WordPress site is one of the most important SEO methods.

press the Ctrl+U combination — to see the meta tags of a page

What is a meta tag example?

Today we want to show the 6 main types of meta tags that that help you to optimize website as much as possible:

  • Title meta tag
  • Description meta tag
  • Keyword meta tag
  • Alternative text for meta tags
  • Canonical meta tag
  • Header meta tag

Let's take a closer look at them and take a look at examples of meta tags on the pages.

  • Title meta tag

Title tags are the most used meta tag on web pages. This is exactly what search engines and users see first. Title should be short, clear and contain the main keyword.

The title tag looks like this:

Title meta tag
  • Description meta tag

The description meta tag is a short and clear description of what the page is about. The description meta tag is what is displayed right under the title meta tag.

The description meta tag looks like this:

Description meta tag
  • Keyword meta tag

Keyword meta tags are top keywords that accurately describe what you are writing about. In order to find the keyword of the page, you will need to press Ctrl+U. After that, you need to find the line that begins with the following words Keyword meta tag

  • Alternative text for images

The Alt tag is tags are written for images so that search engines can index your image. That is, even if there are problems with downloading images, users will still be able to understand what is shown in the picture.

Alt tag starts with alt="YOUR ALT TEXT">

Alternative text for images
  • Canonical meta tag

The Canonical tag should be added if you have pages that are very similar to each other. This tag tells search engines that this page is the main one. The Canonical tag is written using Canonical meta tag

  • Header meta tag

Header tag (h1, h2 ...) are headers with which you name parts of a main page, product page, blog, etc. They are also read by search engines and increase your chances to be in the first Google position. To find the header tag in the html code, you need to enter

,

or whatever header tag you are looking for. Header meta tag

How meta tags help WordPress SEO?

Meta tags are important for SEO of your pages and that's a fact. If meta tags mean nothing, Google wouldn't say that in order to make your site better optimized for search engines, it is recommended to write headings, titles and meta tags manually.

Google about good meta description

WordPress sites have tons of possibilities, but you need to be careful not to overload them with various plugins. This is why adding meta tags to a page is a must, which helps you show your pages in SERPs faster.

How to Add H1-H6 Meta Tags in WordPress

There are 3 possible ways you can add header tags:

1. enter header tags manually

You just need to open the Text Editor in WordPress and write and select h1-h6 in it.

2. enter header tags using the Visual Editor

Go to the Visual Editor and just create h1, h2, etc. using 6 different heading tags.

3. create header tags using a special keyboard shortcut

Using your keyboard press Alt + Shift + Numbers 1,2,3 etc.

How to Add description and keyword meta tags

There are two main ways to add description and keyword Meta Tags in WordPress.

Use Yoast SEO Plugin

Adding meta tags with the Yoast SEO plugin and other similar SEO plugins are the most common way.

To add meta tags you should:

  1. install the plugin.
  2. add a keyword and a descriptive target once installed, click Pages > All or Posts > All > Edit > Enter keyword > click Edit Snippet bud > enter description meta tag.
  3. Save your changes.

Add meta tags manually

Adding meta tags manually is not difficult either.

To add meta tags to a WordPress site without plugins, you need:

1. Open header.php file via File Manager or a SFTP

2. Find the tag

3. You need to write the imperiously tag in such "blanks"

4. Save changes.

How to Add the Alternative text for meta tags

In order to add alternative text to an image, you just need to set up a special plugin, describe an image and add to the site during the publication.

How to Add the Canonical meta tag

There are 2 main ways to add a Canonical meta tag to your site:

  1. add Canonical meta tag via Yoast plugin
  2. add Canonical meta tag via RankMath

Top 7 advices to create good meta tags

  1. Don't overload your page with metadata
  2. Choose the clear and correct keywords
  3. Add short metadata to your WordPress site
  4. Add unique meta tags for each page
  5. Use keywords in meta tags
  6. Avoid passive voice
  7. Make them unique

To sum up

Add meta tags in WordPress website is the main thing that you should take from this blog. Meta tags is a prerequisite for the success of your site. We hope our blog was useful for you.

If you need help with adding metatags to WordPress site, just contact the Wishdesk website development agency.