Meta Rules are used to set the meta data for web pages, to provide information about the content of an individual page to search engines. Meta data is encoded into the web page and and only visible to search engines. You can view meta data on the source of the page. Each webpage should have an unique and accurate meta title and meta description for better ranking in search engine. You can define and manage meta data across the whole site, or set Meta Data rules for specific pages. In addition to this, an exception can be set, as an over-ride. 


The Exception page type, enables more granular rules to be created and applied.


How to set meta rules?

  1. Go to Storefront > Meta Rules
  2. Select specific Meta Page Type

  3. All Meta Page types have the following same fields:
    General Information
    Rule NameThe name applied to the Rule.
    Page TypeThe page the rule will apply on, e.g. Product, Blog or if an exception, this could be the Basket or Order Confirmation page
    Page URLThis is the link for the specific page. For e.g. : http://www.abc.co.uk/basket, where the meta data will appear.
    Localize Content
    Meta TitleMeta Titles are used by search engines to help it Index a site. A good Meta Title will inform the search engine what your page is about. Ideally these should be no longer than 55 characters and not include repetitive words.
    Meta DescriptionMeta Description is a short paragraph of text that describes the content of the page. It should ideally be no longer than 160 characters. Once indexed, it is this description that appears in search engines under the title of the page or when your page is shared via Social Media. Consequently, the description needs to be well structured and provide an accurate description of the page as it will influence potential customers to click thru.

    Meta Keywords
    		Meta Keywords should be some 10 to 20 most relevant keywords for a page.
    Canonical TagsCanonical Tags are very important, they provide the means to tell search engines which content is original. For instance, it is not uncommon in eCommerce to duplicate page content for different purposes, however if this content is same, it is seen negatively by search engines. Canonical Tags enable the administrator to define the primary location (URL) for the content, so search engines understand that this is duplicate content and do not index it, but instead ensures the primary location is indexed.


  4. The Platform provides you ‘variables’ to enable the automation of meta title and meta description. These variables in the main should be defined during project set-up, as the content needs to be populated during the New Product Creation and Product Enrichment processes.



BRAND AND SUB-BRAND: Variables such as Category Code, Description, Gender, Brand Name, Parent Brand Name and a Short Description etc. will usually be created for each Brand. If this information has been created and populated, it can be used to automatically generate meta data content. A simple example of this could be:

Meta Title: $$$Brand.BrandName$$$ perfume for her and aftershave for him, which will appear in the Meta Title as: Gucci Gucci Guilty perfume for her and aftershave for him.Meta Description: Shop our $$$Brand.BrandName$$$ perfume & aftershave at The Fragrance Shop. Free delivery & free click & collect is available, which will appear in the Meta Description as: Shop our Gucci Gucci Guilty perfume & aftershave at The Fragrance Shop. Free delivery & free click & collect is available.



PRODUCT AND CATEGORY: Variables such as Product Full Name, Product StockCode, Category, Category Code, Description, Gender, Product Brand Name, Parent Brand Name and a Short Description etc. will usually be created for each Product. If this information has been created and populated, it can be used to automatically generate meta data content. A simple example of this could be:

Meta Title: $$$Product.FullName$$$, which will appear in the Meta Title as: Gucci Guilty pour homme.
Meta Description: $$$Product.FullName$$$ perfume & mens aftershave collection online at The Fragrance Shop. Free delivery available, which will appear in the Meta Description as: Gucci Guilty pour homme perfume & mens aftershave collection online at The Fragrance Shop. Free delivery available



COLLECTION: Variables such as Product Collection Name and a Product Collection Description and Short Description will usually be created for each collection. If this information has been created and populated, it can be used to automatically generate meta data content. A simple example of this could be:

Meta Title: $$$ProductCollection.Name$$$ at The Fragrance Shop, which will appear in the Meta Title as: Gucci Guilty pour homme.
Meta Description: $$$ProductCollection.Name$$$ at The Fragrance Shop. Free delivery & free click and collect is available, which will appear in the Meta Description as: Mothers Day Gifts at The Fragrance Shop. Free delivery & free click and collect is available.


STATIC: Variables may be used for static pages, however these pages are often unique and therefore only use the variable of the naming convention itself. If this information has been created and populated, it can be used to automatically generate meta data content. A simple example of this could be:

Meta Title: $$$SitePage.PageName$$$: The Fragrance Shop, which will appear in the Meta Title as: New Customer Offer: The Fragrance Shop.
Meta Description: $$$SitePage.PageName$$$. Shop Cheap Designer Perfume, Fragrance & Aftershave. Free delivery & free click & collect is available, which will appear in the Meta Description as: New Customer Offer. Shop Cheap Designer Perfume, Fragrance & Aftershave. Free delivery & free click & collect is available.



EXCEPTION: Exceptions are different than other Meta Rule types that use dynamic variables, as they tend to be unique, so do not usually draw upon the predefined variables used by the other rule types. Examples of where exceptions are used include, the Homepage, Basket, Search Results and Checkout pages. Examples of these are:

Homepage
Meta Title: The Fragrance Shop | Cheap Perfume Shop | Men’s Aftershave
Meta Descriptions: Online Perfume Shop - Cheap perfume, fragrance & aftershave brands including Chanel, Paco Rabanne and Hugo Boss. Free UK delivery options. Free click & collect.
Basket
Meta Title: View your online shopping bag at The Fragrance Shop
Meta Description: View your online shopping bag at The Fragrance Shop. Cheap Designer Perfume & Aftershave. Free delivery is available. Plus free click & collect.



ERROR404: Errors do not usually draw upon the predefined variables used by other rule types. Error pages are generated when a server cannot find a page as it is broken, or the link is dead (been removed).  When considering an Error page, it is usual to add a line within your Robot.txt file, so search engines do not index this page. A redirect, as covered in this SEO section next can be setup if needed, but focus should be given to fixing the problem.  


GENDER: Variables may be used for Gender pages, as product data added during the New Product Creation and Product Enrichment Processes should define if a product and brand is gender specific. A simple example of this could be:

Meta Title:Shop $$$Brand.BrandName$$$ $$$Brand.CategoryType$$$ for $$$Brand.Gender$$$: The Fragrance Shop, which will appear in the Meta Title as: Shop Gucci Gucci Guilty Gucci Perfume for Womens: The Fragrance Shop. $$$ProductCollection.Name$$$ at The Fragrance Shop, which will appear in the Meta Title as: Gucci Guilty pour homme.
Meta Description: Shop $$$Brand.BrandName$$$ $$$Brand.CategoryType$$$ for $$$Brand.Gender$$$ at The Fragrance Shop. Free delivery & free click & collect is available. , which will appear in the Meta Description as: Shop Gucci Gucci Guilty Gucci Perfume for Gucci Womens at The Fragrance Shop. Free delivery & free click & collect is available.