Example—Adding Description Meta Tags

The description tag is one of the most impactful meta tags for search engine optimization (SEO). Although the description meta tag is not considered for result rankings by all search engines, it can influence user click-through behavior.

Example A documentation team wants to enhance the overall experience for users to find available information in their online Help system. They establish in-house guidelines for how these meta tags should be constructed, and create brief descriptions of each web page. The team sets out to increase content discoverability (which in turn should build user trust, and increase brand awareness). They work to optimize text in search results for HTML5 output—with the goal of increasing clicks and traffic.

Level

They create a meta tag set, which automatically includes a description meta tag. They leave the value empty, and add text at the topic level in the Properties dialog.

  1. In the Project Organizer, right-click the Advanced folder and select Add Meta Tag Set.

  2. Complete the File Name field and click Add.

  3. When you want to provide the actual description text for a topic, open the Content Explorer, right-click the topic, and select Properties.

  4. In the Value field, enter a description for the topic.

  5. Click OK.

    This is an example of a description meta tag value shown in search results output.

Findability

  • SEO Description meta tags help to increase discoverability on the web. It is better to add this tag for topics rather than leaving it blank or relying on a search engine to auto-generate a description.

  • Content Management In Flare, you might rely on the Used Meta Tags analysis report or the File List window pane to view a list of files that show the description tags used and their definitions.