Table of contents

  1. Meta description
  2. Keywords
  3. Keywords for coronavirus releases

Print this page

Download as PDF

Meta description

A meta description is a brief summary of a webpage that helps users decide if it is what they are looking for. It appears in search engine results alongside the page’s title.

The meta description must:

  • be clear, concise and frontloaded
  • summarise clearly what the page is about
  • be fewer than 160 characters, otherwise the text may be cut off by search engines
  • make sense out of context (that is, away from the ONS website)

The meta description can be the same as the page summary.

Estimates of employment, unemployment and economic inactivity for the UK for February to April 2020.

Keywords

Keywords are words or phrases that best describe your page and its content. They are used by search engines to help rank your content in terms of relevance for users.

Keywords should reflect the language that users enter into search engines to help people find your content. You should use up to a maximum of five keywords, as using too many reduces their effectiveness.

Keywords should not duplicate words from the title or meta description, as these also contribute towards search. You should also avoid including any acronyms or alternative phrases.

The Content Design team can help you choose the most relevant keywords for your publication. Email Content.Design@ons.gov.uk.

Keywords for coronavirus releases

All releases related to coronavirus should include the following keywords:

  • corona virus
  • COVID 19
  • COVID19
  • covid

This is to make sure users can find the page if they enter alternative spellings into search.

If “coronavirus” or “COVID-19” are included in the title or summary of the release, you do not need to repeat these in the keywords. Include any other relevant keywords for your content to help users find it.

We are constantly improving based on research and best practice. Any significant changes to our guidance are available on the Updates page.