This guide outlines the essential meta tags you need in 2025, in alignment with Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) principles.
1. Title Tag
Importance: Critical for search rankings and click-through rates.
- Keep under 60 characters to avoid truncation.
- Use primary keywords near the beginning.
- Ensure the title is unique for each page.
- Match user intent based on the page’s content.
Note: It’s always a good idea to test out different Title tag lengths to see what works best. See SearchEngineLand.com, on their title tag research, they’ve been seeing that shorter title tags have been preforming better. On the other side of the title tag, Sterling Sky posted a blog article on title tags that are over 200 characters that can actually improve rankings.
<title>All for the love of Coffee | One Sip Away Coffee</title>2. Meta Description Tag
Importance: Doesn’t affect rankings directly but boosts clicks from search results.
- Limit to 150–160 characters.
- Write clear, benefit-driven copy.
- Use natural language, not keyword stuffing.
Note: check your data in Google Search Console to review the associated queries per page, then search Google to see if your meta description is showing. Google at times can opt to pick text from your page. A meta description can be a great influence with CTRs.
<meta name="description" content="Discover essential meta tags for SEO in 2025 and how to implement them effectively.">3. Robots Meta Tag
Purpose: Controls indexing and link-following behavior for search engines.
Use it only when you want to restrict crawling or indexing:
<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">By default, you don’t need this tag if you want a page to be indexed and links followed.
4. Canonical Tag
Purpose: Helps avoid duplicate content issues by pointing to the preferred version of a page.
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/preferred-page" />Can You Edit the Canonical Tag in Your CMS?
Not all content management systems (CMS) give you full control over the <link rel="canonical"> tag. Some platforms allow full customization, while others set it automatically with limited or no options to override it.
CMSs That Allow Canonical Tag Editing
| CMS | Can You Edit Canonical Tags? | How? |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | ✅ Yes | Use SEO plugins like Yoast, Rank Math, or All in One SEO |
| Shopify | ⚠️ Limited | Automatically sets canonical tags. Manual control requires theme editing or apps (limited on lower-tier plans) |
| Squarespace | ❌ Not directly | Sets default canonical tags based on URL. No native support to customize without workarounds (e.g., developer mode or code injection) |
| Wix | ⚠️ Partially | Basic support. Limited ability to customize; advanced users may need Dev Mode (Velo) |
| Webflow | ✅ Yes | Can be manually edited in page settings or via custom code |
| Drupal | ✅ Yes | With SEO modules (like Metatag) |
| Joomla | ✅ Yes | With extensions like sh404SEF or direct template editing |
| BigCommerce | ⚠️ Limited | Automatically sets canonical tags. Full control requires developer access or apps |
5. Viewport Tag
Purpose: Ensures proper scaling and display on mobile devices.
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">6. Open Graph and Twitter Card Tags
Purpose: Improves how your content appears when shared on social media.
<meta property="og:title" content="Essential Meta Tags for SEO in 2025" /><meta property="og:description" content="Learn about the key meta tags to optimize your website for search engines in 2025." /><meta property="og:image" content="https://www.example.com/image.jpg" /><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> 7. Obsolete: Meta Keywords Tag
This tag is no longer used by Google or other major search engines. There is no need to include:
<meta name="keywords" content="seo, meta tags, google ranking">Quick Summary Table
| Meta Tag | Use It? | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| <title> | ✅ Yes | Influences rankings and clicks |
| <meta description> | ✅ Yes | Boosts click-through rates |
| <meta keywords> | ❌ No | Obsolete |
| <meta robots> | ⚠️ Maybe | Control indexing/crawling |
| <link rel=”canonical”> | ✅ Yes | Prevents duplicate content |
| <meta viewport> | ✅ Yes | Mobile responsiveness |
| Open Graph / Twitter Tags | ✅ Yes | Improves social sharing |
Aligning with Google’s E-E-A-T Guidelines
- Experience: Write from real-life experience or use examples.
- Expertise: Present accurate, up-to-date knowledge.
- Authoritativeness: Show credentials, reviews, or mentions.
- Trustworthiness: Keep your site secure, current, and transparent.
For further reading, visit Google’s official guide to people-first content.
