Meta tags and search appearance | Doghouse SaaS Knowledge Base [Skip to content](#main) [ ![Doghouse SaaS Knowledge Base](/storage/branding/01M3N8PQ7PSDNQBBKKJM6XGW03.svg) ](https://nginx.deploy-lagoon-production.districtcms-docs.dh1.amazee.io) [Product documentation](/articles) [Roadmap](/roadmap) Toggle navigation [Product documentation](/articles) [Roadmap](/roadmap) 1. [Home](/) › 2. [Product documentation](/articles) › 3. [Accessibility & content quality](/articles?category=20) › 4. Meta tags and search appearance Meta tags and search appearance =============================== Updated 5 days ago · 3 min read Search Search Overview -------- Meta tags are the title and description search engines and social media show for a page, plus the image used for link previews. On this site the page title is handled automatically by pattern rather than typed in on each page. > **⚠️ Important:** This is an administrator's job. There is no meta tags field on the page editing form, so content editors have nothing to fill in here. --- How this site handles it ------------------------ Instead of a field to fill in on every page, an administrator sets a pattern once using tokens, placeholders that pull in real values automatically. A typical page title pattern looks like this: > *\[node:title\] | \[site:name\]* Every page then generates its own title from that pattern, using its own content, without anyone needing to visit that page's settings. This means a title is never missing or forgotten, but it also means changing the wording needs a pattern change, not a page edit. > **⚠️ Important:** At present, articles, events and landing pages do not get a description or a link-preview image. The Content default builds both from fields these content types do not have, so the tags come out empty, and search engines and social media fall back to text and images they pick from the page themselves. Fixing this is a configuration change, so raise it with whoever maintains your site. --- Changing the defaults --------------------- 1. In the admin menu, open **Configuration**, then **Search and metadata**, then **Metatag**. 2. Press **Edit** beside the default you want: **Global** applies everywhere, **Front page** applies only to the homepage, and **Content** applies to every content item unless something more specific overrides it. The list also has defaults for taxonomy terms, user profiles and the 403 and 404 error pages. 3. Edit the **Page title**, **Description** and other fields, using tokens where you want the value to change per page. 4. Press **Save**. ![The Metatag defaults screen outlined in red, listing Global, Front page, 403 access denied, 404 page not found and Content, each Active with an Edit button.](/storage/TMNBUlP1WSCvGaem1iCemo4iW38hoFMngQYef8Ed.png) > **💡 Tip:** Use **Browse available tokens** on the settings form to find the exact token for a field, such as a page's summary or featured image. --- Checking what a page will show ------------------------------ Since there is nothing to preview on the page editing form, the only way to see the generated title is to view the page itself and check its browser tab title, or view the page source. If something looks wrong, it is almost always the pattern, not the individual page. --- SEO Checklist ------------- An administrator also has access to an **SEO Checklist** under the same **Search and metadata** menu: a 45-item list covering clean URLs, meta tags, search engines, content and mobile setup. It is a one-off technical setup guide rather than an ongoing editing task, and most of it will already be handled by how the site was built. Related articles ------------------ - [ Using the accessibility checker → ](/articles/accessibility-checker) - [ XML sitemaps → ](/articles/xml-sitemaps) Was this article helpful? ------------------------- Your feedback helps us prioritise what to rewrite. Yes No [ Back to Accessibility & content quality ](/articles?category=20) On this page **Need additional help?** Submit a support request through the [**support portal** ](https://doghouse.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals)or email © 2026 [Doghouse SaaS](https://doghouse.agency) [Glossary](/articles/glossary)