SEO-Guidelines-Smartcrawl/smartcrawl/titles-and-meta.md

Titles & Meta Descriptions

SmartCrawl's Titles & Meta module controls how every page on your site appears in search results and browser tabs. It uses a macro/variable system for global templates with per-post overrides.

Template Macros

SmartCrawl uses %%variable%% syntax. The full list is accessible via the "Browse Macros" button in the Titles & Meta admin screen.

Core Macros

Macro	Output
%%title%%	Post/page title
%%sitename%%	Site name (from Settings > General)
%%sep%%	Separator character (configurable)
%%excerpt%%	Post excerpt (auto-generated if not set)
%%excerpt_only%%	Excerpt only — no auto-generation fallback
%%category%%	Post primary category
%%tag%%	Post tags
%%term_title%%	Term/taxonomy title
%%term_description%%	Term description

Date & Time Macros

Macro	Output
%%date%%	Post published date
%%modified%%	Post last modified date
%%currenttime%%	Current time
%%currentdate%%	Current date
%%currentday%%	Current day
%%currentmonth%%	Current month
%%currentyear%%	Current year

Pagination Macros

Macro	Output
%%page%%	Page number
%%pagenumber%%	Current page number
%%pagetotal%%	Total pages
%%spell_pagenumber%%	Page number in words ("Page Two of Five")
%%spell_pagetotal%%	Total pages in words

Author & Post Macros

Macro	Output
%%name%%	Author display name
%%userid%%	Author user ID
%%id%%	Post ID
%%pt_single%%	Post type singular name
%%pt_plural%%	Post type plural name

Special Macros

Macro	Output
%%searchphrase%%	Search query (for search results page)
Custom field macros	Supported with uppercase (v3.11.0+)

Additional "dynamic macros" exist for edge cases that do not appear in the Browse Macros list. These are documented in the WPMU DEV support forums.

Global vs Per-Post Settings

Level	Scope	How It Works
Global template	Per post type, per taxonomy, archives, special pages	Set once, applies everywhere via macros
Per-post override	Individual post/page	Entered in the SmartCrawl meta box in the editor — overrides the global template

When to Use Each

• Global template: Set it and forget it. Works well for blogs, archives, and consistent content types.
• Per-post override: Use for every important page. Homepage, service pages, key landing pages, and high-value blog posts should all have hand-crafted titles and descriptions.

Recommended Title Templates

Homepage

%%sitename%% %%sep%% [Your primary value proposition]

Example output: Alaska Safe Riders | Motorcycle Safety Courses in Anchorage, AK

Posts (Blog)

%%title%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%

Example output: What to Wear to a Motorcycle Safety Course | Alaska Safe Riders

Pages

%%title%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%

Override per-page for service pages with keyword-optimized titles.

Categories

%%term_title%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%

Author Archives

Posts by %%name%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%

(Consider noindexing author archives on single-author sites)

Search Results

Search Results for "%%searchphrase%%" %%sep%% %%sitename%%

(Always noindex search results pages)

404 Page

Page Not Found %%sep%% %%sitename%%

Title Tag Best Practices

• Length: 50-60 characters (Google truncates at ~580px pixel width)
• Primary keyword placement: As close to the beginning as possible
• Every page must have a unique title — duplicates confuse Google
• Include brand name at the end (builds brand recognition in SERPs)
• Do not keyword-stuff — one primary keyword is enough
• Use power words for CTR: "Best", "Guide", "Free", numbers, parentheses

Good vs Bad Examples

Bad	Good
Home - My Website	Motorcycle Safety Courses Anchorage, AK | Alaska Safe Riders
Services	Event Management & Roster Tracking | ASR Events Manager
Blog Post Title Here | Category | Website Name	What to Expect at a Basic Rider Course | Alaska Safe Riders

Meta Description Best Practices

• Length: 150-160 characters (Google truncates unpredictably above this)
• Include primary keyword naturally (Google bolds matching terms)
• Include a call to action: "Register today", "Learn more", "Contact us"
• Include differentiators: Pricing, location, certifications, experience
• Hand-craft descriptions for important pages — auto-generated ones rarely perform well
• Google rewrites ~60% of meta descriptions but good ones are kept and improve CTR

Quality Indicators in SmartCrawl

SmartCrawl's SEO status column on post/page lists uses color-coded indicators:

Color	Meaning
Green	Description is 120-160 characters, hand-crafted
Yellow	Description exists but is outside optimal range or auto-generated
Red	No description set

Separator Character

Set in Titles & Meta > General. Common choices:

Separator	Look
| (pipe)	Page Title | Site Name
— (em dash)	Page Title — Site Name
- (hyphen)	Page Title - Site Name
»	Page Title » Site Name

Recommendation: Use | or — for a clean, modern appearance.

Noindex Recommendations

Set these in the Titles & Meta module per post type/taxonomy:

Content Type	Recommendation	Reason
Tag archives	Noindex	Usually thin content, duplicate of category archives
Author archives	Noindex (single-author sites)	Duplicate of main blog page
Date archives	Noindex	Thin content, duplicate
Search results	Noindex	Dynamic, no SEO value
Paginated archives	Noindex	Thin duplicate content
Media attachment pages	Noindex	Single image on a page, no value
Thank you pages	Noindex	No search value

Post Type Configuration

Check Settings > Advanced > Post Types to ensure all relevant content types are enabled:

• Posts and Pages (default)
• WooCommerce Products (if applicable)
• Portfolio items
• Any custom post types

If a post type is not enabled, its pages will not appear in sitemaps and will not get SmartCrawl meta box in the editor.