About Meta Data and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Adding meta data or "tags" is one way to help search engines find your content and improve rankings on organic search listings. This article will focus on the page meta data and best practices. Logic CMX provides easy access to meta data at a global and individual page level. For best results each page should have unique meta data focused on specific content of the page and emphasizing 2 to 3 keywords consistently.
Key concepts in this article include:
- Best Practices
- Adding Global Meta Tags to All Pages
- Adding Unique Meta Tags to an Existing Individual Page
- Adding Meta Tags When Creating a New Page
- Additional SEO Resources and Guides
Meta Data Types and Best Practices
Title Tag - Each page should have unique meta title that displays in the browser tab (not on page). The title should contain 2 to 3 unique keywords relevant to on page content as H1 title tags and on page copy and links.
Meta Description - The meta is a brief summary displayed in search engine results and helps users determine if your page is relevant to their search. Meta descriptions can technically be any length, but Google generally truncates snippets to ~155-160 characters. It's best to keep meta descriptions long enough that they're sufficiently descriptive, so Google recommends descriptions between 50 and 160 characters.
Meta Keywords - Include up to 10 meta keywords including 2 to 3 primary keywords associated with on page content and other related keywords that are unique and relevant. Add as a comma separated list.
Canonical URL - A canonical URL refers to an HTML link element, with the attribute of rel="canonical" (also known as a canonical tag), found in the <head> element of your webpage. It specifies to search engines the preferred URL. In Logic, Canonical URLs are added at the individual page level from the SEO Website Setting link in the right rail of the page editor.
How to Add Meta Tags Globally
For best results, each web page should have unique and relevant meta data but a good starting point in Logic CMX is to configure global settings to ensure each page has base level meta data. Then proceed to individual page settings for further optimization. Entering individual page meta data will automatically override (replace) global meta data settings.
1. Login to the Logic CMX admin using your email address and password.
2. Go to SEO Settings within the Marketing tab located in the left-side navigation bar.
3. The "Sites" tab is open by default. Add your global meta data into the Default Meta Title, Meta Description, and Meta Keywords fields following best practices listed above.
4. Save the page and a success message will display.
Global meta default settings have now been saved and will be included on all pages unless individual page meta data settings are present and override global settings. Also located on the SEO Settings page are controls for Site Map, Site Map Index, Open Graph Image, and Twitter Card.
Site Map - Logic automatically generates an XML site map that helps search engines index the site. This is not visible on the front-end of the site. The update button allows the user to force update the file if recent changes have been made and lists all html pages within the index.
Site Map Index - Google recommends dividing site maps into multiple files for larger sites. If the website contains 100 or more pages, Logic will automatically create multiple sitemap documents and generate an index that points to each file.
Open Graph - Open Graph images are the default image displayed on social media platforms such as Meta's Facebook and Instagram. A logo placard image can be uploaded as a landscape jpeg as a default image to display if the page being shared does not have an image.
Twitter Card - Add the Twitter handle (X handle) to associate the website with the related Twitter (X) account when sharing.
How to Add Unique Meta Tags to Individual Web Pages
For best results, each web page should have unique and relevant meta data. Global settings only provide base level meta data as a fall back. It is therefore recommended to add individual page meta data for proper optimization. Entering individual page meta data will automatically override (replace) global meta data settings.
1. Login to the Logic CMX admin using your email address and password.
2. Go to the Pages link within the Website tab located in the left-side navigation bar.
3. Meta data can be added to an existing page by editing the pages listed in the Pages directory. Click on the edit icon to open the page editor. SEO Settings are listed in the right column of the page editor with a link to edit SEO Settings (pictured below with link circled in red).
4. Click on the SEO Settings Edit link to open the settings modal.
5. Enter meta data into the available fields of the Edit SEO Settings modal shown below, following best practices for Meta Page Title, Keywords, and Description fields. Save changes once completed.
Upon saving, the meta data will be added to the individual web page. Also available within SEO Settings are controls for unique Open Graph Image that will display when sharing a page in social media, a field to add a Canonical URL for the page, and individual page campaign tracking code from Google or any other third part tracking system. There is also a section for adding unique Schema data for the page including a menu to select Schema Page Type and Custom Schema.org JSON mark-up.
How to Add Meta Tags to a New Web Page
Meta data can also be added when creating a new page using the optional meta data fields in the new page form. Refer to the instructions below.
1. Login to the Logic CMX admin using your email address and password.
2. Go to the Pages link within the Website tab located in the left-side navigation bar.
3. Select the Add New Page button at the top right of the page directory.
4. The Add New Page form will load. The only required field to add a new page is the Page Name, but as an option, meta data can be easily added at the time of creating a new page by completing one or more of the optional meta tag fields shown below including Meta Page Title, Keywords, and Description. An additional field is available to insert a campaign tracking code if applicable.
5. Save changes to proceed to the page editor. Meta data is now included in the new page and can be edited from the SEO Settings Edit link in the right side column.