SEO Meta Tags

Status: Production Ready ✅ Last Updated: 2026-01-14 Source: Schema.org, Open Graph Protocol, Twitter Developer Docs

Quick Start

Every page needs:

<head>
  {/* Basic SEO */}
  <title>Service in Location | Brand Name</title>
  <meta name="description" content="Value prop. Differentiator. Call to action." />
  <link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page" />

  {/* Open Graph */}
  <meta property="og:title" content="Service in Location" />
  <meta property="og:description" content="Value prop. Differentiator. CTA." />
  <meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/og-image.jpg" />
  <meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page" />
  <meta property="og:type" content="website" />

  {/* Twitter Card */}
  <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
  <meta name="twitter:title" content="Service in Location" />
  <meta name="twitter:description" content="Value prop. Differentiator. CTA." />
  <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://example.com/og-image.jpg" />

  {/* JSON-LD Structured Data */}
  <script type="application/ld+json">
    {JSON.stringify({
      "@context": "https://schema.org",
      "@type": "LocalBusiness",
      "name": "Business Name",
      "description": "What we do",
      "@id": "https://example.com",
      "url": "https://example.com",
      "telephone": "+61-XXX-XXX-XXX",
      "address": {
        "@type": "PostalAddress",
        "streetAddress": "123 Main St",
        "addressLocality": "Sydney",
        "addressRegion": "NSW",
        "postalCode": "2000",
        "addressCountry": "AU"
      }
    })}
  </script>
</head>

Title Tag Patterns

Character Limits:

Google: 50-60 characters (desktop), 78 (mobile)
Social: 60-70 characters

Page Type Formulas:

| Page Type | Pattern | Example | |-----------|---------|---------| | Home | [Brand] - [Primary Service] in [Location] | Acme Plumbing - 24/7 Emergency Plumber Sydney | | Service | [Service] in [Location] | [Brand] | Hot Water Repairs Sydney | Acme Plumbing | | Location | [Service] [Suburb] | [Brand] | Plumber Bondi | Acme Plumbing | | About | About [Brand] - [Tagline/USP] | About Acme - Licensed Plumbers Since 1995 | | Contact | Contact [Brand] - [Location] | [Phone] | Contact Acme Plumbing - Sydney | 1300 XXX XXX |

Title Modifiers (add credibility):

24/7 Emergency
Licensed & Insured
Free Quotes
Same Day Service
Family Owned
Award Winning

Anti-Patterns (avoid):

❌ "Welcome to..." (wastes characters)
❌ Keyword stuffing (plumber plumbing plumbers)
❌ ALL CAPS (looks spammy)
❌ Special characters (★ § ¶)

Meta Description Patterns

Character Limits:

Desktop: 155-160 characters
Mobile: 120-130 characters

Formula:

[Value prop] [Service] in [Location]. [Differentiator]. [CTA].

Examples by Page Type:

Home Page:

Fast, reliable plumbing services in Sydney. 24/7 emergency response, licensed plumbers, upfront pricing. Call 1300 XXX XXX for same-day service.

Service Page:

Expert hot water repairs in Sydney. Fix or replace electric, gas & solar systems. Licensed technicians, 1-year warranty. Book online or call 1300 XXX XXX.

Location Page:

Trusted plumber in Bondi. Blocked drains, leaks, hot water, gas fitting. Same-day service, upfront quotes. Call your local plumber on 1300 XXX XXX.

Power Words (use sparingly):

Trust: Licensed, Certified, Insured, Guaranteed, Trusted
Speed: Fast, Quick, Same Day, Emergency, 24/7, Instant
Value: Affordable, Competitive, Upfront, No Hidden Fees, Free Quote
Local: Local, Nearby, Your Area, [Suburb Name]
Quality: Expert, Professional, Experienced, Award Winning

Open Graph Tags

Required Tags:

<meta property="og:title" content="Service in Location" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Value prop. Differentiator. CTA." />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/og-image.jpg" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page" />
<meta property="og:type" content="website" />

Image Requirements:

Dimensions: 1200x630px (1.91:1 ratio)
Format: JPG or PNG (JPG preferred for file size)
File size: <1MB (ideally <300KB)
Text overlay: Keep important text center (safe zone: 1000x530)

og:type Values by Page Type:

| Page Type | og:type | |-----------|---------| | Home, Service, Location | website | | Blog Post | article | | Business Profile | business.business |

Optional but Recommended:

<meta property="og:site_name" content="Brand Name" />
<meta property="og:locale" content="en_AU" />

Twitter Cards

Card Types:

| Type | Use Case | |------|----------| | summary | Small square image (1:1), basic info | | summary_large_image | Large image (1.91:1), most common |

Required Tags:

<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Service in Location" />
<meta name="twitter:description" content="Value prop. Differentiator. CTA." />
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://example.com/og-image.jpg" />

Optional:

<meta name="twitter:site" content="@yourbrand" />
<meta name="twitter:creator" content="@authorhandle" />

Fallback Behavior:

If twitter:title missing, uses og:title
If twitter:description missing, uses og:description
If twitter:image missing, uses og:image

Best Practice: Define og:* tags first, only add twitter:* if values differ.

JSON-LD Structured Data

LocalBusiness Schema (Most Important)

Use for homepage and contact page:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Plumber",
  "name": "Acme Plumbing",
  "description": "Licensed plumbing services in Sydney",
  "@id": "https://acmeplumbing.com.au",
  "url": "https://acmeplumbing.com.au",
  "logo": "https://acmeplumbing.com.au/logo.png",
  "image": "https://acmeplumbing.com.au/og-image.jpg",
  "telephone": "+61-XXX-XXX-XXX",
  "email": "info@acmeplumbing.com.au",
  "priceRange": "$$",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Main Street",
    "addressLocality": "Sydney",
    "addressRegion": "NSW",
    "postalCode": "2000",
    "addressCountry": "AU"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": -33.8688,
    "longitude": 151.2093
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": [
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday"],
      "opens": "07:00",
      "closes": "17:00"
    }
  ],
  "sameAs": [
    "https://facebook.com/acmeplumbing",
    "https://instagram.com/acmeplumbing"
  ]
}

Specific Business Types (instead of generic LocalBusiness):

Plumber, Electrician, Locksmith, HVAC (HVACBusiness)
Dentist, Attorney, Accountant
Restaurant, Cafe, FoodEstablishment
Store, AutoRepair, BeautySalon

Service Schema

Use for service pages:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Service",
  "name": "Hot Water Repairs",
  "description": "Fast hot water system repairs in Sydney",
  "provider": {
    "@type": "Plumber",
    "name": "Acme Plumbing",
    "url": "https://acmeplumbing.com.au"
  },
  "areaServed": {
    "@type": "City",
    "name": "Sydney"
  },
  "availableChannel": {
    "@type": "ServiceChannel",
    "serviceUrl": "https://acmeplumbing.com.au/hot-water-repairs",
    "servicePhone": "+61-XXX-XXX-XXX"
  }
}

FAQ Schema (Rich Snippets)

Use for FAQ sections:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How much does a plumber cost in Sydney?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Plumbing rates in Sydney typically range from $100-$150 per hour for standard work. Emergency callouts may incur higher rates. We provide upfront quotes before starting work."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Do you offer same-day service?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Yes, we offer same-day plumbing service across Sydney for urgent repairs. Call us before 2pm for same-day availability."
      }
    }
  ]
}

BreadcrumbList Schema

Use on all pages except homepage:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
  "itemListElement": [
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 1,
      "name": "Home",
      "item": "https://acmeplumbing.com.au"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 2,
      "name": "Services",
      "item": "https://acmeplumbing.com.au/services"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 3,
      "name": "Hot Water Repairs",
      "item": "https://acmeplumbing.com.au/hot-water-repairs"
    }
  ]
}

Canonical URLs

When to Use:

Every page should have a self-referencing canonical
Duplicate content (pagination, filters, print versions)
Syndicated content
Cross-domain duplicates

Self-Referencing Canonical:

<!-- Always include, even if no duplicates -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page" />

Pagination:

<!-- On page 2+ -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/services" />
<!-- Not https://example.com/services?page=2 -->

Common Mistakes:

❌ Missing canonical (Google chooses for you)
❌ Relative URLs (use absolute URLs)
❌ Canonical pointing to different content
❌ Multiple canonicals (only one per page)

Validation Tools

Check Your Implementation:

| Tool | Purpose | URL | |------|---------|-----| | Google Rich Results Test | Test structured data | search.google.com/test/rich-results | | Schema Markup Validator | Validate JSON-LD | validator.schema.org | | Facebook Debugger | Test Open Graph tags | developers.facebook.com/tools/debug | | Twitter Card Validator | Test Twitter Cards | cards-dev.twitter.com/validator | | Screaming Frog | Audit all pages | screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider |

Browser Extensions:

SEO Meta in 1 Click (Chrome)
META SEO inspector (Firefox)

Quick Reference Checklist

For every page, include:

[ ] <title> (50-60 chars, unique per page)
[ ] <meta name="description"> (150-160 chars, unique per page)
[ ] <link rel="canonical"> (absolute URL)
[ ] Open Graph tags (og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url, og:type)
[ ] Twitter Card tags (twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, twitter:image)
[ ] JSON-LD structured data (LocalBusiness on homepage, Service on service pages)
[ ] BreadcrumbList schema (all pages except homepage)
[ ] Mobile viewport meta tag
[ ] Charset meta tag (UTF-8)

Never:

❌ Duplicate titles across pages
❌ Use "Welcome to..." in titles
❌ Omit og:image (critical for social sharing)
❌ Use generic @type (LocalBusiness instead of Plumber)
❌ Skip CTA in meta description

Error Prevention

Common Issues

| Issue | Cause | Fix | |-------|-------|-----| | No rich snippets in search | Invalid JSON-LD | Use validator.schema.org, check commas/quotes | | Social share shows wrong image | og:image missing or wrong size | Use 1200x630px, test with Facebook Debugger | | Title truncated in search | Too long | Keep under 60 chars | | Description truncated | Too long | Keep under 160 chars | | Multiple pages rank for same keyword | Duplicate titles | Make each title unique |

Testing Workflow

Validate HTML: Use W3C validator
Test Structured Data: Google Rich Results Test
Test Social Sharing: Facebook Debugger + Twitter Card Validator
Mobile Preview: Google Search Console URL Inspection
Cross-Browser Check: Test meta rendering in Chrome/Firefox/Safari

Best Practices Summary

Title Tags:

50-60 characters maximum
Include primary keyword + location + brand
Unique for every page
Use modifiers (24/7, Licensed, Free) sparingly

Meta Descriptions:

150-160 characters maximum
Include value prop + differentiator + CTA
Write for humans, not search engines
Every page needs unique description

Open Graph:

Always include og:image (1200x630px)
Use absolute URLs
Keep og:title under 60 chars
Test with Facebook Debugger before launch

JSON-LD:

Use specific @type (Plumber, not LocalBusiness)
Include all contact info (phone, address, email)
Add openingHoursSpecification for better display
Validate with schema.org validator

Canonical URLs:

Every page needs canonical
Always use absolute URLs
Self-referencing is good practice
Only one canonical per page

Production Notes:

Use react-helmet-async for React apps (SSR-safe)
Generate JSON-LD dynamically from CMS/database
Cache meta tag components for performance
Monitor Search Console for indexing issues
Update structured data when business details change