![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smiling-woman-with-laptop-800px.jpg\")
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SEO best practices are great. But there\u2019s more to landing on Page 1 of the search results than just best practices.<\/p>\n
You need to understand the top-ranked pages in the search results for your<\/em> keywords. What do they have in common? That\u2019s how you compete.<\/p>\n Wouldn\u2019t it be great to bypass those general on-page SEO recommendations and get customized data? Well, there\u2019s a plugin for that! The Bruce Clay SEO WP plugin, in fact.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a quick tour of how you can get customized SEO advice for each web page so you can take on-page SEO to the next level.<\/p>\n Title tags are still important for signaling to the search engine what the page is about. In fact, data from 2020 shows<\/a> that title tags still matter in ranking. That\u2019s because they are a key signal to Google that your webpage is relevant for a query.<\/p>\n For that reason and more, we\u2019re careful to craft title tags. We go so far as to deliberate on exactly how many words and characters should be in them.<\/p>\n We want to be sure that the title tag content doesn\u2019t get cut off in the search results.<\/p>\n Of course, there are best practices backed by data<\/a> on how long your title tag should be. This type of research is usually based on an analysis of a large number of search results.<\/p>\n Our general SEO recommendation<\/a> is that title tags should be about 9 words (within the range of 6 to 12). But why guess?<\/p>\n It\u2019s more useful to know how long the title tags are for the top-ranked pages for your keywords<\/em>. Yes, your keywords, are not an analysis of millions of random search results. That\u2019s because there will usually be a normal range among the top-ranked pages in the search results.<\/p>\n Our WordPress SEO plugin analyzes the top-ranked pages in real-time for your keywords. It then recommends the exact range you should target. You\u2019ll be able to see how many words your title tag is, and how many words it should be.<\/p>\n The same goes for meta descriptions. We know that 24 words or 160 characters with spaces is about what Google will display in a meta description.<\/p>\n But is that the optimal word count?<\/p>\n You can see in our example above that the meta description for this sample webpage started out as 29 words. However, after an analysis of the top-ranked webpages, the goal was no more than nine words. If you didn\u2019t have the data, you might think that would be too short.<\/p>\n You may already use a WordPress SEO plugin that helps you tweak your meta info based on best practices. Yoast SEO is one of them (and we love Yoast), but our plugin kicks it up a notch with custom advice.<\/p>\n (BTW, if you\u2019re a die-hard Yoast SEO fan, you can use our plugin right alongside it and get even more data. Learn more about plugging in the Yoast SEO gaps<\/a>.)<\/p>\n You may have seen the studies and advice<\/a> that say long-form content performs better in search results. And that may be true in many cases. But if you always follow that guidance, you could be wasting your time.<\/p>\n Every search query has a different set of algorithmic signals. And those algorithmic signals carry different weights depending on the query, as well. So there are endless combinations of what Google deems important for a query.<\/p>\n Informational content designed for learning about a subject will likely need<\/a> longer webpages. Many queries will need shorter answers.<\/p>\n But it doesn\u2019t make sense to use a general best practice here; that\u2019s just shooting in the dark. If all the top-ranked pages are coming in at 1,500 words, why write 3,000?<\/p>\n In the example below from our WordPress SEO plugin, you can see that the webpage analyzed was too short compared to the top-ranked pages. This is another pitfall website publishers succumb to when creating content.<\/p>\n Our WordPress SEO plugin uses patented technology to analyze the top-ranked pages for your keywords in real-time. It then averages the top competitors and produces target word count ranges right in WordPress. That\u2019s customized SEO advice!<\/p>\n Do this before you write so you can be as efficient as possible with your content creation.<\/p>\n Another area where SEO advice would vary widely is the readability score. A readability score at what grade level the content is written.<\/p>\n This matters for a couple of reasons:<\/p>\n This ties into Google\u2019s concept of expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness<\/a>. Google performs webpage-level assessments to grade the \u201cexpertness\u201d of the content.<\/p>\n One of the ways that Google might determine if your content is \u201cexpert\u201d is how similar or different that content is to other webpages on the same topic. Its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines<\/a> say the following about the main content (MC) of a page:<\/p>\n Very high quality MC is original, accurate, comprehensive, clearly communicated, professionally presented, and should reflect expert consensus as appropriate. Expectations for different types of information may vary. For example, scientific papers have a different set of standards than information about a hobby such as stamp collecting. However, all types of very high quality informational content share common attributes of accuracy, comprehensiveness, and clear communication, in addition to meeting standards appropriate to the topic or field.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n So, for example, a scientific topic might be written at a higher grade level than a hobby topic.<\/p>\n Our WordPress SEO plugin calculates the target word count range based on the top-ranked pages for a search query. This tells you what readability or grade level Google thinks is right for the topic.<\/p>\n To help edit your content to the right grade level, I like to use the Hemingway app<\/a>. More often than not, authors need to simplify their writing (get the grade level down) rather than make it more complex.<\/p>\n But it could be the other way around. If the content is too simple compared to top-ranked webpages, you might assess who is writing the content. Do they have the expertise? Regardless, checking the content reading level is useful for polishing any written article.<\/p>\n Try the WordPress SEO plugin to get custom on-page SEO advice now.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Read more on how the Bruce Clay SEO plugin helps you with:<\/p>\n Customizing title tags and meta descriptions is a fundamental yet often overlooked aspect of SEO strategy. Let’s explore why paying attention to these small but mighty on-page elements can make a significant difference in your online presence.<\/p>\n Customized title tags and meta descriptions give you the opportunity to craft compelling, relevant, and concise snippets that entice users to click on your search results. A well-crafted meta description can provide a sneak peek into the content, making users more likely to visit your site.<\/p>\n Search engines use title tags and meta descriptions to understand the content of a page and rank it accordingly. By customizing these elements with targeted keywords and engaging language, you can signal the relevance of your content to search engines, improving your chances of ranking higher in search results.<\/p>\n When your website appears prominently in search results and entices users with informative title tags and meta descriptions, you’re more likely to receive organic traffic. These visitors are valuable because they’re actively searching for information related to your content.<\/p>\n Customized title tags and meta descriptions also contribute to a better user experience. When users find content that aligns with their expectations, they are more likely to stay on your site, explore other pages, and convert into customers or subscribers.<\/p>\n In a competitive online landscape, every advantage matters. By optimizing your title tags and meta descriptions, you can stand out from the crowd and capture the attention of potential customers who are bombarded with options.<\/p>\n Customizing title tags and meta descriptions is not just a best practice; it’s a strategic move that can significantly impact your website’s performance. By crafting compelling and informative snippets, you improve your click-through rates, boost search engine visibility, attract organic traffic, enhance the user experience, and gain a competitive edge. It’s a small effort with big rewards in the world of SEO.<\/p>\n Step-by-Step Procedure: Maximizing the Benefits of Customized Title Tags and Meta Descriptions for SEO<\/strong><\/p>\n SEO best practices are great. But there\u2019s more to landing on Page 1 of the search results than just best practices. You need to understand the top-ranked pages in the search results for your keywords. What do they have in common? That\u2019s how you compete. Wouldn\u2019t it be great to bypass those general on-page SEO […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":82148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1874,1876,1232,1579,1875,281],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/a>Get Custom Meta Data for Your Webpage<\/h2>\n
![\"Example](\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/long-title-tag-example.png\")
\nMoz\u2019s title tag preview tool<\/a> shows how Google search results can cut off a long title tag.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Custom](\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/meta-data-targets.png\")
\nSummary tab in the Bruce Clay SEO WP plugin showing meta information targets.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Get a Custom Word Count for Your Webpage<\/h2>\n
![\"Custom](\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/custom-word-count.png\")
\nSummary tab in the Bruce Clay SEO WP plugin shows word count targets.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Get Your Custom Readability Score<\/h2>\n
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![\"Readability](\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/readability-score.png\")
\nSummary tab in the Bruce Clay SEO WP plugin analyzes target readability scores.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
<\/a>FAQ: What are the benefits of customizing title tags and meta descriptions for SEO?<\/h3>\n
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