{"id":2393,"date":"2025-05-07T07:19:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T06:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2393"},"modified":"2025-05-06T16:20:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T15:20:05","slug":"meta-tags-for-small-business-websites-what-google-cares-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/2025\/05\/meta-tags-for-small-business-websites-what-google-cares-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Meta Tags for Small Business Websites: What Google Cares About"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 5<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes : <\/span><\/span><h1>Meta Tags for Small Business Websites: What Google Cares About<\/h1>\n<p>Alright, let\u2019s be honest \u2013 meta tags sound boring, right? Just another bit of techy jargon web people throw around. But if you\u2019ve got a small business website, knowing a bit about them can actually help your site show up on Google. And that means more people seeing what you\u2019ve got to offer. So let\u2019s break it all down, nice and simple.<\/p>\n<h2>What Are Meta Tags, Anyway?<\/h2>\n<p>Meta tags are little bits of text that live in the background of your website \u2013 the codey bit that normal visitors don\u2019t see. They tell search engines like Google stuff about your site, like what it\u2019s about and how to display it in search results.<\/p>\n<p>They don\u2019t change how your site *looks*, but they can change how it *gets found*. Which, let\u2019s be honest, is kind of the whole point of having a website in the first place.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Which Meta Tags Does Google Actually Care About?<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1262\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1262\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1262\" src=\"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/seo-896175_640-300x158.png\" alt=\"SEO\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/seo-896175_640-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/seo-896175_640.png 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1262\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image from https:\/\/pixabay.com\/illustrations\/seo-google-search-engine-896175\/<br \/>Free for use under the Pixabay Content License<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Here\u2019s the thing \u2013 there are loads of different meta tags, but Google only really pays attention to a few of them. So let\u2019s look at the ones that actually matter:<\/p>\n<h3>1. &lt;title&gt; tag (yes, it\u2019s technically a meta tag)<\/h3>\n<p>This is the one that usually shows up as the blue link in search results. It also appears at the top of your browser tab.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters:<\/strong> Google uses it to understand what your page is about. It also helps people decide if they want to click your link.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep it under 60 characters if you can but there is no technical limit to the length and Google will sometimes rewrite it on the search display, even if it is less than 60 characters.<\/li>\n<li>Put your business name in there if it makes sense.<\/li>\n<li>Make it match what\u2019s actually on the page!<\/li>\n<li>Put the most important thing at the front of the title.\u00a0 So, for example &#8220;Polymer Clay Supplies in North Wales : The Crafty Kitten&#8221;, as the branding isn&#8217;t the most important thing (see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/2025\/04\/nobody-cares-about-your-brands-quality-and-thats-okay\/\">this post about whether people care about your brand<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2. &lt;meta name=&#8221;description&#8221;&gt;<\/h3>\n<p>This gives a short summary of your page. Sometimes Google uses it in search results \u2013 though not always. Sometimes they just pick their own bit of text off your page (cheeky, right?), tests have shown on some searches it only uses the description 4% of the time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters:<\/strong> Even if Google rewrites it, a good description can make people more likely to click.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep it under 160 characters.<\/li>\n<li>Tell people what they\u2019ll get if they click.<\/li>\n<li>Include important keywords naturally \u2013 don\u2019t stuff!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. &lt;meta name=&#8221;robots&#8221;&gt;<\/h3>\n<p>This one tells search engines what to do with your page. Should they index it (add it to search results)? Should they follow the links on it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters:<\/strong> If you accidentally tell Google not to index your site, you\u2019re in trouble!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you want Google to <em>index your page and follow links, you don\u2019t even need to include this tag<\/em> \u2013 that\u2019s the default.<\/li>\n<li>But if you want to block a page from search, use: <code>&lt;meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\"&gt;<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>4. &lt;meta charset=&#8221;UTF-8&#8243;&gt;<\/h3>\n<p>Okay, this one\u2019s not for search engines exactly \u2013 but it helps your page display properly. It tells the browser how to handle special characters like \u00a3 or \u00e9.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters:<\/strong> A broken page with weird symbols isn\u2019t going to impress customers or Google.<\/p>\n<h2>What About Open Graph and Twitter Tags?<\/h2>\n<p>These aren\u2019t really for Google \u2013 they\u2019re more for social media. But they\u2019re still worth knowing about if you share your website on Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn and so on.<\/p>\n<p>They control how your page looks when it\u2019s shared \u2013 the title, image and description that show up in the preview.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s an example of an Open Graph tag:<\/strong><\/p>\n<pre>&lt;meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best Coffee in Brighton - Joe's Java\"&gt;\r\n<\/pre>\n<p><strong>Why they matter:<\/strong> They don\u2019t help with Google ranking, but they can make your link look good on social media \u2013 and that might mean more clicks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you need them?<\/strong> Not essential, but worth it if you share links a lot. Some website builders like WordPress or Wix add them for you automatically.<\/p>\n<h2>Are There Any Tags You *Don\u2019t* Need?<\/h2>\n<p>Absolutely. There\u2019s a bunch of old-school meta tags that don\u2019t really do anything these days. Google\u2019s moved on.<\/p>\n<h3>1. &lt;meta name=&#8221;keywords&#8221;&gt;<\/h3>\n<p>This used to be a big deal in the early 2000s. You\u2019d stuff it full of keywords like \u201ccheap trainers\u201d, \u201cbest shoes UK\u201d, and hope for the best.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why you don\u2019t need it:<\/strong> Google hasn\u2019t used this for ranking in years. In fact, if you overdo it, it can make the page look spammy to Google.<\/p>\n<h3>2. &lt;meta http-equiv=&#8221;refresh&#8221;&gt;<\/h3>\n<p>This one reloads the page after a set amount of time, or redirects to another page. Google doesn\u2019t like this trick unless you\u2019ve got a really good reason.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tip:<\/strong> If you need to redirect, do it properly using a 301 redirect in your server settings.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Author, rating, revisit-after, and other weird ones<\/h3>\n<p>You might see meta tags for \u201cauthor\u201d, \u201crating\u201d, \u201crevisit-after\u201d and all sorts, including one that was called ICBM (for: intercontinental ballistic missile !) &#8211; . Google mostly ignores them. They don\u2019t hurt, but they don\u2019t help either.<\/p>\n<h2>Do Meta Tags Help With SEO?<\/h2>\n<p>Some of them, yeah. But not all. Think of it like this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Title tag:<\/strong> Big deal. Helps rankings and clicks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Description:<\/strong> Doesn\u2019t boost rankings, but can boost clicks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Robots tag:<\/strong> Important for controlling what gets indexed but only if you don&#8217;t want something indexed &#8211; otherwise it&#8217;s not needed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Open Graph\/Twitter:<\/strong> Helps with social, not Google.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keywords tag:<\/strong> Useless. Forget it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So yes \u2013 they do help, but not all by themselves. Google also looks at your actual page content, how fast your site loads, how mobile-friendly it is, and a whole bunch of other stuff.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Add Meta Tags to Your Website<\/h2>\n<p>It depends on what you used to build it. Here\u2019s a quick rundown:<\/p>\n<h3>If you use WordPress<\/h3>\n<p>Install an SEO plugin like Yoast or Rank Math. These let you add meta titles, descriptions and more without touching code.<\/p>\n<h3>If you use Wix, Squarespace or Shopify<\/h3>\n<p>Most of these have built-in tools to edit your meta tags. Just look for the SEO section when editing a page.<\/p>\n<h3>If you code your own site<\/h3>\n<p>Pop the tags into the &lt;head&gt; section of your HTML. Like this:<\/p>\n<pre>&lt;head&gt;\r\n  &lt;meta charset=\"UTF-8\"&gt;\r\n  &lt;title&gt;Amazing Bakes - Home Baked Cakes in Leeds&lt;\/title&gt;\r\n  &lt;meta name=\"description\" content=\"Get fresh, handmade cakes delivered in Leeds. Perfect for birthdays, weddings or just because!\"&gt;\r\n  &lt;meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\"&gt;\r\n&lt;\/head&gt;\r\n<\/pre>\n<h2>What Happens If You Don\u2019t Use Meta Tags?<\/h2>\n<p>Your site won\u2019t explode, but it might not perform as well. Google will try to figure things out for itself, but it\u2019s better to give it a hand. Especially with the title and description \u2013 otherwise it might just pick a random bit of text off your page. Which isn\u2019t always flattering.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s like letting someone else write your shop sign. They might get it right\u2026 or they might not.<\/p>\n<h2>Quick Meta Tag Checklist for Small Biz Sites<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re in a rush, here\u2019s a basic checklist:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Title tag:<\/strong> Clear, accurate, typically under 60 characters but don&#8217;t stess if your reach 70 or so &#8211; Google will\u00a0 truncate it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Meta description:<\/strong> Useful summary, typically under 160 characters, but be prepared for Google to not display your carefully crafted description.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Charset:<\/strong> Set to UTF-8.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Robots:<\/strong> Only needed if you want to block indexing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Open Graph\/Twitter:<\/strong> Optional, good for social shares.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Meta tags aren\u2019t magic, but they\u2019re a solid bit of website housekeeping. They help Google (and people) understand your site, and that\u2019s always a good thing.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t need to get fancy. Just make sure your titles and descriptions are useful, honest, and not written like a robot. That\u2019s half the battle won already.<\/p>\n<p>And if you\u2019re not sure where to start, most website builders make it easy \u2013 you don\u2019t need to be a tech wizard.<\/p>\n<p>So go on, give your site a little meta makeover. Your future customers (and Google) will thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 5<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes : <\/span><\/span>Meta Tags for Small Business Websites: What Google Cares About Alright, let\u2019s be honest \u2013 meta tags sound boring, right? Just another bit of techy jargon web people throw around. But if you\u2019ve got a small business website, knowing a bit about them can actually help your site show up on Google. And that means [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-advice","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestsoftware.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}