How to Remove Duplicate Meta Tags in Hybrid WordPress Theme Framework

I have recently switched to the Hybrid WordPress theme, and as you can see, it is a clutter free and elegant looking WordPress theme. However, it has a steep learning curve, and needs slight tweaks for optimal customization. We have seen how to show excerpts instead of post content on the homepage, how to display AdSense advertisements below the post title, and today, we will see how to remove duplicate meta descriptions for posts.

What is the problem with duplicate Meta tags?

A duplicate meta tag is like giving two descriptions for your page. It confuses your search engine, and generally, the search engine picks up the first occurrence of the meta tag. This can prove to be fatal in search rankings, and can have an adverse effect on your page SEO.

What causes duplicate Meta tags in the Hybrid Theme?

The Hybrid Theme Framework has its own SEO features. However, many people prefer using All in One SEO (AIO) Pack. This can create duplicate meta tags. The unfortunate thing is, although Hybrid has methods to check if another SEO Plugin is installed, it somehow did not work on my Hybrid News Theme installation. Thus, I was getting two Meta tags for “description” and “keywords”. I had to find a way of turning off Hybrid’s SEO!

How to turn off Hybrid SEO?

Hybrid SEO is a core feature. To turn it off, we have to tweak the way Hybrid is activated on your blog. However, don’t be scared by all that. In reality, you have to add a single line of code to your functions.php file on the child theme.

Look for the line that says, function hybrid_[your_theme_name]_setup(). Now, go to the end of the function, which should be the place where you find the first closing brace ( ”}” ) on a single line.

/*removes hybrid core SEO */
remove_theme_support( ‘hybrid-core-seo’ );

That is all. Now, Hybrid SEO will not interfere with your own SEO plugin, and you will see single tags for meta description and meta keywords.