Using Metadata to Improve SEO

What is SEO and why does it matter?

Search engine optimization is the process of increasing a website’s visibility to search engines. The earlier that a site appears in search results, the more likely that users will visit it. Search engine optimization is a process that is often complex, and dependent on the algorithms that govern search engine behavior.

Search engines use “crawlers” to examine sites and index them. In order to make sure that your site is being read correctly, make sure that the keywords that you are using target the audience that you want to draw.

Deciding on Keywords

Spend time thinking about what your audience is looking for. You can determine this a few different ways. First, look at others in your field of interest. What are they putting on their site that is working well for them? What topics have generated the most traffic for your site in the past?

Second, try using Google Trends to find out what people related to your field are looking for. Google Trends is a free tool that allows measures what search terms are most frequently used. You can view what is trending statewide and how it varies throughout the year. For additional information on using Google Trends, see our blog post on How to Increase Traffic to Your Site.

Optimize Your Site

Enable Metadata Customization on Divi

Meta data can be input on Divi, but it does require a few steps. First, navigate to Divi Theme Options on the bottom left sidebar of the Dashboard. On the top menu, select “SEO.” Here you have options to enable custom titles, description, and keywords on the homepage, single pages, and index pages.

 
Note on this page that custom field names are also given for each of these types of metadata (seo_title, seo_description, and seo_keywords). You can also customize these terms if you like. You will use these within the “custom fields” section of your posts and pages.

A Few Helpful Tips

When filling in these fields, keep a few of the following guidelines in mind:

  • Page title should be around 55 characters
  • Meta description should be around 160 characters
  • Avoid using each keyword more than one time, as this will cause crawlers to think that that you are spam
  • Keywords should appear within your content and primary header as well as your meta data
  • Once your content has been published, try using SEO Ideas to check to see if your content complies with on-page SEO factors and discover what else you can do to boost your SEO.

 

Check back soon for more blog posts on SEO in the near future! If you have questions or would like to suggest a topic for us to write about, comment below.