SEO for Categories

What's inside this article:

• Basic information
• Title
• META Title
• META Description
• META Keywords
• Program image
• Custom URL

Basic information

This article lists the settings on the Edit Category (Zone) screen that are important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The information applies only for Categories that have an archive page.

For information about opening the Edit Category (Zone) screen to edit or create a Category, see the following article:

• Using the Categories (Zones) list

Title

In the Title box, enter the main title for the Category. The title is visible:

• On the Category / Multimedia archive page
• On content pages from the Category

The main title is also visible in the page metadata and helps search engines understand the purpose of the page.

META Title

In the META Title box, enter the meta title for the archive page.

The meta title is normally visible:

• As the clickable headline when the archive page is listed on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
• On the browser tab when the archive page is open
• When the archive page is shared via social media

META Description

In the META Description box, enter the meta description for the archive page.

The meta description is used as follows:

• It is provided to search engines as the recommended text for the description (or snippet) on SERPs.
• It is visible as the description when the archive page is shared via social media.

Search engines always look for the most informative and relevant snippet to match the specific user query. They often prefer to pull relevant text from the page content, rather than using the meta description. However, Google states that the meta description is sometimes used if it gives users a more accurate description than would be possible purely from the on-page content.

META Keywords

In the META Keywords box, enter meta keywords for the archive page. Separate each keyword with a comma and a space.

Program image

The Program image setting is available only for TV and Radio categories.

The Program image is visible when the Multimedia archive page is shared via social media.

Custom URL

We recommend creating a Custom URL for every Category that has an archive page. It is important to create the Custom URL immediately after you publish the Category.

An effective Custom URL offers the following benefits:

• Improved user experience, as it is clear where the user will go after clicking the link.
• URLs that include keywords might be ranked more highly by search engines.
• Consistent use of effective URLs boosts the authority of your domain for search engines.

To learn how to create a Custom URL, see the following article:

• Creating a Custom URL