You must add a page description to your web page's metadata. You may also need to add keywords or a strapline.
These are visible in search engines and will improve the ranking of your page in search results. They are also used by screen readers for the visually impaired.
Always review your keywords and descriptions when reviewing your pages.
What is metadata?
Metadata is information about web pages, images, files and any other website content. The information is picked up and used by search engines, including our internal search engine.
Adding a page description to the metadata
You can add or update your pages description by opening the page in Matrix, clicking on the metadata tab and editing the description field. Click the save button when done.
Descriptions should be between 110 and 160 characters long including spaces.
Adding keywords to the metadata
You can add or update your pages description by opening the page in Matrix, clicking on the metadata tab and editing the keywords field. Click the save button when done.
- Keywords are not mandatory.
- Keywords are not used by external search engines.
- Keywords are used by our internal search engine to rank results. Add keywords if your page isn't appearing as expected in the results of the SCC search.
- Keywords can be those used in the page title or words that related to the subject of the page.
- Although external search engines don't use keywords to rank pages, they can suggest useful keywords for you to include. Type a phrase such as 'surrey childcare' into search engines such as Google and Bing to see what the auto text brings up. This shows common searches by users.
- Keywords do not need to be capitalised.
- Separate keywords with commas.
Why we have this web standard
This web standard ensures your page is accessible to all and reaches the widest possible audience.