SEO Best Practices
This guide covers the fundamentals of on-page SEO as they apply to meta tags and image alt text — the fields you manage with Vibe SEO Meta.
Meta titles
Section titled “Meta titles”The meta title is the clickable headline in search results. It’s one of the strongest on-page ranking signals.
Guidelines
Section titled “Guidelines”- Length: 50–60 characters. Google truncates titles longer than ~60 characters.
- Structure: Primary keyword — Secondary keyword | Brand Name.
- Front-load keywords — put the most important terms at the beginning.
- Make it unique — every page should have a distinct title. Avoid duplicates.
- Be descriptive — the title should accurately describe the page content.
Examples
Section titled “Examples”| Too short | Good |
|---|---|
| ”Shoes" | "Women’s Running Shoes — Lightweight & Breathable |
| "About" | "About Us — Sustainable Fashion Since 2015 |
Meta descriptions
Section titled “Meta descriptions”The meta description is the snippet text below the title in search results. It doesn’t directly affect rankings, but a compelling description improves click-through rate.
Guidelines
Section titled “Guidelines”- Length: 120–160 characters. Google truncates descriptions longer than ~160 characters.
- Include a call to action — “Shop now”, “Learn more”, “Free shipping on orders over $50”.
- Mention key benefits — what makes this page worth clicking?
- Use natural language — write for humans, not search engines.
- Make it unique — avoid duplicating descriptions across pages.
Examples
Section titled “Examples”| Too generic | Good |
|---|---|
| ”Buy shoes online." | "Shop lightweight women’s running shoes designed for comfort. Free returns and fast shipping on all orders over $50.” |
Image alt text
Section titled “Image alt text”Alt text describes the content of an image. It helps search engines understand images and is read aloud by screen readers for accessibility.
Guidelines
Section titled “Guidelines”- Length: Under 125 characters.
- Be descriptive — describe what the image shows, not the product name.
- Skip “image of” or “photo of” — screen readers already announce the element type.
- Include relevant keywords naturally, when they fit.
- Don’t keyword-stuff — a natural description is always better.
Examples
Section titled “Examples”| Poor | Good |
|---|---|
| ”product-123.jpg" | "Red leather crossbody bag with gold clasp on white background" |
| "Image of our new shoe" | "Navy blue trail running shoe with orange laces, side view” |
Common mistakes to avoid
Section titled “Common mistakes to avoid”- Leaving meta tags empty — Google will auto-generate snippets from your page content, but they’re rarely as good as a custom meta description.
- Keyword stuffing — “Buy shoes, best shoes, cheap shoes, shoes online” hurts more than it helps.
- Duplicate tags across pages — every page should have unique meta tags.
- Ignoring collections and pages — products get the most attention, but collection pages and information pages also rank in search results.
- Writing for search engines instead of people — the goal is to get clicks from real users, not just match keywords.
Using AI suggestions effectively
Section titled “Using AI suggestions effectively”AI-generated meta tags are a starting point, not a final product. After generating suggestions:
- Add brand-specific details the AI may not know (unique selling points, brand name, promotions).
- Check for accuracy — make sure the description matches what’s on the page.
- Adjust the tone — the AI writes in a neutral tone by default. Add personality if your brand calls for it.
- Review character counts — the AI targets the ideal range, but editing afterward may push you outside it. Watch the character counters.