Meta

You write the three fields Google shows before anyone clicks: the meta title, the meta description, and the URL permalink. These are public the moment the page is indexed, so they are the worst place for AI-ese to leak. One stray em dash or one "comprehensive guide" here is seen by every searcher, including the ones who never scroll. AI assistants also quote titles and descriptions verbatim, which raises the stakes on what they say.

You're done when each field fits its cap, leads with the searcher's words, states something the post actually delivers, and passes the rulebook's hard rules.

Initial assessment

• If .agents/blog-context.md exists, read it. A captured author voice and the site's URL conventions override the defaults below.
• Read the hard rules and the Titles section of the house-style rulebook at ../house-style/references/ai-tells.md. Every field has to pass them.
• Get the primary keyword. If the user did not give one, read it off the post's H1 and first paragraph and say which one you used. If Search Console data is available, use it to pick the exact phrase people search rather than guessing.
• Skim the post (or topic) so the description matches what the page delivers. A promise the post does not keep is a click that bounces.

Rules

Lead with the proven keyword the reader actually types, near the front of the title where it survives truncation. Keep the title close to the post's H1 and to the query. Search engines rewrite titles that drift from the page, and they rewrite most meta descriptions anyway, so a description that matches the page is the one most likely to survive.

Carry a fact from the post instead of teasing it. "Disabling emoji scripts removes three HTTP requests" outlives "Find out how to speed up your site," because people and AI assistants can use it as is. The fact has to come from the post body: never invent a result, ranking, or number, and never write "our tests" or "we found" unless the post says so. If the post makes no specific claim, describe concretely what it covers.

When a field holds alternatives (two prices, several options, a range), put the value the site most wants quoted first. Skimmers and AI answers take the first number or name they see. Write plain language a 12-year-old would follow.

Metadata attracts its own filler on top of the rulebook's title molds: "comprehensive guide," "discover," "learn how." Both sets apply to every field, not only the title. Say what the page gives the reader.

No em or en dashes in any field; a comma or colon does the same job. A hyphen inside a compound word is fine.

Field caps

• Meta title: 60 characters maximum, aim for 50 to 58 so it has headroom. Keyword near the front. Over 60 gets truncated in the SERP.
• Meta description: 155 characters maximum, aim for 135 to 150. Active voice, lead with the fact or benefit, work the keyword in naturally.
• Permalink: 2 to 5 natural-language words, lowercase, hyphen-separated, readable as a phrase. No stop-word padding and no IDs. Strip years and numbers unless they are genuinely part of the topic. Never change the slug of a published post unless the user asks; that needs a redirect.

Show the character count beside the title and the description so the user can see the caps hold. Models miscount characters, so if you can run code, count with it (for example len("...")); otherwise count carefully and leave a few characters of headroom.

Image and structured data

Google Discover and AI answers show a thumbnail, and Google picks it from og:image and the page's image markup. Discover demotes clickbait and favors original, in-depth posts, so the title rules above apply to og:title too.

• og:image: the post's lead image, at least 1200px wide. The author's own photo or screenshot beats stock, since Discover rewards original work. Use only a real image path from the user or the post; with none, say the post needs a lead image instead of inventing a URL.
• max-image-preview:large in the robots meta tag, so Discover can show the large card. Many sites set it site-wide already; check before adding it.
• Article JSON-LD with headline, image, datePublished, dateModified, and author as a Person with name and url pointing to a real author page. Take every value from the post or .agents/blog-context.md and leave out any field you can't fill truthfully. Change dateModified only when the content changed in substance (see refresh).

This markup earns thumbnails and ties the post to its author. It doesn't earn AI citations on its own (see ai-seo), so keep it to these fields. If the CMS or an SEO plugin already outputs them, give the values to fill in rather than raw markup.

Output

Return the three fields, labeled:

• Meta title, with its character count.
• Meta description, with its character count.
• Permalink.
• The lead image recommendation and the Article JSON-LD block, unless the user only asked for the title and description.

Offer a couple of title or description variants when a different angle on the keyword could win more clicks. Keep every variant inside the caps.

If the post itself gets in the way (an outdated year in the H1, a claim it contradicts elsewhere), write the fields from what's true and add one line telling the author what to fix in the post.

Related skills

article · humanize · seo-optimize · blog-context · house-style · ai-seo