SEO metadata that earns the click
Titles, descriptions, canonical tags, robots directives, and social cards—what each one controls and how they interact.
Metadata does not make a weak page rank, but it decides how a good page is represented and whether it is indexed at all. Four artefacts do most of the work: the title, the description, the canonical link, and the robots directive.
Titles and descriptions
Titles usually survive to roughly 60 characters and descriptions to about 150–160, though truncation is by rendered width rather than a character count. Search engines frequently rewrite descriptions to match a query, so write for the click rather than for exact reproduction.
Canonical versus redirect
A canonical link is a hint that consolidates duplicates while keeping both URLs reachable—ideal for tracking parameters and sort orders. A permanent redirect is a decision: the old URL stops serving content. Use the redirect when the duplicate should not exist.
Crawling is not indexing
Blocking a path in robots.txt prevents fetching, which also prevents the crawler from reading a noindex directive on that page. To remove a URL from the index, allow the crawl and serve noindex until it drops out.
Social cards are a separate audience
Open Graph fields control the shared card, where a shorter, punchier description next to an image performs better than a search-oriented one. Platforms cache previews, so re-scrape after an edit.
Preview before publishing
Check truncation with Meta Tag Preview, review cards with Open Graph Preview, sanity-check canonicals with Canonical URL Checker, and read robots.txt vs Meta Robots.
Try related tools
Keep exploring
- learnHow to use Meta Tag PreviewSERP-style meta title and description preview. A practical guide to Meta Tag Preview: when it fits, how to get a reliable result, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
- learnGetting started with Slug GeneratorURL slugify with diacritic stripping, locally. A practical guide to Slug Generator: when it fits, how to get a reliable result, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
- collectionSEO HelpersPreview meta and social cards, generate slugs, robots.txt, and sitemaps, and sanity-check canonical URLs.
- compareQuery Parameters vs Path ParametersFilters in the query string versus identity in the path—compare URL design for APIs, caching, and analytics.
- compareMeta Description vs Open Graph DescriptionSearch snippets versus social previews—compare the two description tags, their lengths, and whether to duplicate them.
- comparerobots.txt vs Meta RobotsCrawl control versus index control—compare the two mechanisms and the classic mistake of blocking a page you wanted deindexed.
- compareCanonical Tag vs 301 RedirectA hint about duplicates versus a permanent move—compare when to canonicalise and when to redirect for good.
- compareShort vs Descriptive URL SlugsMinimal slugs versus keyword-rich ones—compare readability, click-through, and long-term maintenance of URL paths.