Information to help us decide how we'll handle HTML titles and meta descriptions for postgraduate pages.
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WIP guidance
Metadata descriptions and page intros
Proposed approach
HTML title
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- Key benefit, ideally as direct address/imperative – the banner overview should be a good starting point
- Programme name
- Synonyms/key words that are commonly used, e.g. 'MBA' for the 'Master of Business Administration'
- The kind of content users will find, the tasks they allow users to complete (optional of there's room)
Why use these elements?
Key benefit: For recruitment.
Programme name: Google wants to include the search term in the description so sometimes truncates the description to stuff the search term into the snippet, or uses other content on the page for the snippet. The most common search term that will bring people to a programme page is the programme name, so to avoid having Google chop of off important parts of our description we should include the programme name in the search term. The name can be scattered amongst other words, e.g. “This Master’s degree will make you an expert in Public Policy”
Key words: Findability, as these synonyms will be common search terms.
Kind of content: Give users a clear an idea what the content covers making it more likely they click through. This is optional because postgraduate students should have a reasonable idea the kind of content a page about a PG programme would cover and they already know the subject of the page from the title. Providing it when the other elements leave a few enough characters spare should make click through more likely.
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Examples
Thinking of doing a Master of Tourism Management? Build on your Bachelor's degree with advanced study and research into the dynamic world of tourism.
Study the Master of Business Administration and boost your performance as a manager and a leader with a broad-based, globally-recognised MBA programme.
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- Key benefit, ideally as direct address/imperative – the banner overview should be a good starting point
- Kind of content (in order of priority):
- Postgraduate qualifications/programmes/degrees (must mention that this is what the page covers, don’t need to list them though)
- Contacts and staff
- Stories
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OK, these last two use a lot of chars. So maybe only use them when the [key benefit] and [programme] are very short.