Meta tags are metadata of a HTML page which supply additional information for search engines. The most important tags in SEO practices are description and title.
- Description: describes what your page is about.
- Title: help search engines to categorize the content on your site.
NOTE: The Metatag modules will be enabled on IC sites upon request. If you do not see that path, please email us to request the module be enabled.
METATAG
Navigate to: Configuration > Search and metadata > Metatag
Once this module is enabled, your site is automatically configured to use the default patterns, however, from the list of available Meta tag configurations, the Global, Global: Front page and Node meta tags can be tailored to your site specifically.
NOTE: When using 'tokens' as in the examples below, the token should always be placed within left and right brackets.
Example:
GLOBAL - These are the metatags that will apply to all pages by default
- Select ‘Override’
- Page title - This is setup by default to use current-page:title | site:name, you can leave the default in place or customize it using tokens or text. Example: current-page:title | site:name | site: slogan or current-page:title | site:name | Minneapolis Bookstore
- Description - This should be specific to your store, but general enough that it could apply to any page on your site. Example: ABA Test Bookstore is an independent bookstore located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Browse our wide variety of books, gifts or upcoming events.
- Save
GLOBAL: FRONT PAGE - These are the metatags that will apply to the front page
- Select ‘Override’
- Page title - This is setup by default to use site:name | site:slogan, you can leave the default in place or customize it using tokens or text. Example: current-page:title | site:name | site: slogan or current-page:title | site:name | Minneapolis Bookstore
- Description - This should be specific to your store. Example: ABA Test Bookstore is an independent bookstore located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving the surrounding areas of St. Paul, Duluth and Maple Grove. Shop our site for books, gifts and event tickets.
- Save
NODE
- Select ‘Override’
- Page title - This is setup by default to use current-page:title | site:name, we recommend leaving this default in place so that it changes for each node.
- Description - We recommend using the token node:summary for this field so that is changes based on the node.
- Save
NOTES:
- Obtain a list of available tokens by expanding the ‘Advanced’ tab and selecting ‘Browse Available Tokens’.
- We do not recommend you make any changes to the ‘Advanced’ tabs, Taxonomy term or User options unless you are familiar with SEO on a high level.
- You can also configure meta tags for individual nodes when creating or editing a content by selecting the Meta tags tab and completing necessary information.
METATAG OPEN GRAPH
Open Graph promotes integration between third party platforms (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and other websites by allowing them to become rich ‘graph’ objects with the same functionality as other objects.
Simplified, using Open Graph meta tags, provides a small level of control over the information available to share from your website to a third-party website (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) .
Example: A shared Facebook post
CONFIGURE METATAG: OPEN GRAPH
Navigate to: Configuration > Search and metadata > Metatag
- Select ‘Override’ for ‘Content’
- Expand the ‘Open Graph’ tab
- Assign the ‘Open Graph Image’ field the appropriate image token for your nodes (this is the image field used on pages, events, blogs, etc. Example: node:field_image
- Save
NOTES:
- The image token only works if images are being uploaded through a field and not the ‘body’ of the node.
- You can also configure OpenGraph meta tags for individual nodes when creating or editing a content by selecting the Meta tags tab and completing the ‘OpenGraph’ field.
METATAG CONTEXT
The Context Metatags module allows you to set meta tags for each Drupal page, meta tags can be specified for individual paths.
In the example below, we’ll set our event pages to use custom meta tags, instead of the ‘Global’ meta tags we set-up earlier.
Navigate to: Configuration > Search and metadata > Metatag > By path > Add a meta tag by path
- Name - this is the name of the metatag rule you are creating. Example: events then select ‘Add and Configure’
- Path - This is the path for the node you are creating this rule for. Example: event/*
- Page title - This is setup by default to use current-page:title | site:name, you can leave the default in place or customize is using tokens or text. Example: current-page:title | Event
- Description - This should be specific to the path. Example: ABA Test Bookstore Events are a great way to pass the time! We hold a wide range of events in our Minneapolis and St. Paul locations including author signings, book groups and more!
- Save