diff --git a/examples/server.js b/examples/server.js
index fac6d742..170af38e 100644
--- a/examples/server.js
+++ b/examples/server.js
@@ -32,11 +32,12 @@ app.use(express.static(__dirname))
 
 app.use(async (req, res, next) => {
   if (!req.url.startsWith('/ssr')) {
-    next()
+    return next()
   }
 
   try {
-    const html = await renderPage()
+    const context = { url: req.url }
+    const html = await renderPage(context)
     res.send(html)
   } catch (e) {
     consola.error('SSR Oops:', e)
diff --git a/examples/ssr/App.js b/examples/ssr/App.js
index 808b49b3..ae55f948 100644
--- a/examples/ssr/App.js
+++ b/examples/ssr/App.js
@@ -1,32 +1,82 @@
 import Vue from 'vue'
+import Router from 'vue-router'
 import VueMeta from '../../'
 
+Vue.use(Router)
 Vue.use(VueMeta, {
   tagIDKeyName: 'hid'
 })
 
 export default function createApp () {
-  return new Vue({
-    components: {
-      Hello: {
-        template: '<p>Hello World</p>',
-        metaInfo: {
-          title: 'Hello World',
-          meta: [
-            {
-              hid: 'description',
-              name: 'description',
-              content: 'The description'
-            }
-          ]
+  const Home = {
+    template: `<div>
+      <router-link to="/about">About</router-link>
+
+      <p>Hello World</p>
+    </div>`,
+    metaInfo: {
+      title: 'Hello World',
+      meta: [
+        {
+          hid: 'og:title',
+          name: 'og:title',
+          content: 'Hello World'
+        },
+        {
+          hid: 'description',
+          name: 'description',
+          content: 'Hello World'
         }
-      }
-    },
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+
+  const About = {
+    template: `<div>
+      <router-link to="/">Home</router-link>
+
+      <p>About</p>
+    </div>`,
+    metaInfo: {
+      title: 'About World',
+      meta: [
+        {
+          hid: 'og:title',
+          name: 'og:title',
+          content: 'About World'
+        },
+        {
+          hid: 'description',
+          name: 'description',
+          content: 'About World'
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+
+  const router = new Router({
+    mode: 'history',
+    base: '/ssr',
+    routes: [
+      { path: '/', component: Home },
+      { path: '/about', component: About }
+    ]
+  })
+
+  const app = new Vue({
+    router,
     metaInfo () {
       return {
         title: 'Boring Title',
         htmlAttrs: { amp: true },
         meta: [
+          {
+            skip: this.count < 1,
+            hid: 'og:title',
+            name: 'og:title',
+            template: chunk => `${chunk} - My Site`,
+            content: 'Default Title'
+          },
           {
             hid: 'description',
             name: 'description',
@@ -73,8 +123,6 @@ export default function createApp () {
     },
     template: `
     <div id="app">
-      <hello/>
-
       <p>{{ count }} users loaded</p>
 
       <ul>
@@ -85,6 +133,10 @@ export default function createApp () {
         {{ user.id }}: {{ user.name }}
         </li>
       </ul>
+
+      <router-view />
     </div>`
   })
+
+  return { app, router }
 }
diff --git a/examples/ssr/browser.js b/examples/ssr/browser.js
index b10d0e5e..37a7e492 100644
--- a/examples/ssr/browser.js
+++ b/examples/ssr/browser.js
@@ -2,4 +2,5 @@ import createApp from './App'
 
 window.users = []
 
-createApp().$mount('#app')
+const { app } = createApp()
+app.$mount('#app')
diff --git a/examples/ssr/server.js b/examples/ssr/server.js
index 2d1964fb..d7334dbe 100644
--- a/examples/ssr/server.js
+++ b/examples/ssr/server.js
@@ -14,14 +14,27 @@ const compiled = template(templateContent, { interpolate: /{{([\s\S]+?)}}/g })
 
 process.server = true
 
-export async function renderPage () {
-  const app = await createApp()
-  const appHtml = await renderer.renderToString(app)
+export async function renderPage ({ url }) {
+  const { app, router } = await createApp()
 
-  const pageHtml = compiled({
-    app: appHtml,
-    ...app.$meta().inject()
-  })
+  router.push(url.substr(4))
+
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    router.onReady(async () => {
+      const matchedComponents = router.getMatchedComponents()
+      // no matched routes, reject with 404
+      if (!matchedComponents.length) {
+        return reject({ code: 404 })
+      }
+
+      const appHtml = await renderer.renderToString(app)
 
-  return pageHtml
+      const pageHtml = compiled({
+        app: appHtml,
+        ...app.$meta().inject()
+      })
+
+      resolve(pageHtml)
+    })
+  })
 }
diff --git a/src/client/updaters/tag.js b/src/client/updaters/tag.js
index 341175e4..db7c8c35 100644
--- a/src/client/updaters/tag.js
+++ b/src/client/updaters/tag.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { booleanHtmlAttributes, commonDataAttributes } from '../../shared/constants'
+import { booleanHtmlAttributes, commonDataAttributes, tagProperties } from '../../shared/constants'
 import { includes } from '../../utils/array'
 import { queryElements, getElementsKey } from '../../utils/elements.js'
 
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ export default function updateTag (appId, options = {}, type, tags, head, body)
 
     for (const attr in tag) {
       /* istanbul ignore next */
-      if (!tag.hasOwnProperty(attr)) {
+      if (!tag.hasOwnProperty(attr) || includes(tagProperties, attr)) {
         continue
       }
 
diff --git a/src/server/generators/tag.js b/src/server/generators/tag.js
index b6da8a17..a5c62450 100644
--- a/src/server/generators/tag.js
+++ b/src/server/generators/tag.js
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import {
   tagsWithoutEndTag,
   tagsWithInnerContent,
   tagAttributeAsInnerContent,
+  tagProperties,
   commonDataAttributes
 } from '../../shared/constants'
 
@@ -43,7 +44,7 @@ export default function tagGenerator ({ ssrAppId, attribute, tagIDKeyName } = {}
         // build a string containing all attributes of this tag
         for (const attr in tag) {
           // these attributes are treated as children on the tag
-          if (tagAttributeAsInnerContent.includes(attr) || attr === 'once') {
+          if (tagAttributeAsInnerContent.includes(attr) || tagProperties.includes(attr)) {
             continue
           }
 
diff --git a/src/shared/constants.js b/src/shared/constants.js
index abb59503..ecf4c5fc 100644
--- a/src/shared/constants.js
+++ b/src/shared/constants.js
@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ export const tagsWithInnerContent = ['noscript', 'script', 'style']
 // Attributes which are inserted as childNodes instead of HTMLAttribute
 export const tagAttributeAsInnerContent = ['innerHTML', 'cssText', 'json']
 
+export const tagProperties = ['once', 'template']
+
 // Attributes which should be added with data- prefix
 export const commonDataAttributes = ['body', 'pbody']
 
diff --git a/src/shared/getComponentOption.js b/src/shared/getComponentOption.js
index ecd4e07a..e09318f2 100644
--- a/src/shared/getComponentOption.js
+++ b/src/shared/getComponentOption.js
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 import { isFunction, isObject } from '../utils/is-type'
-import { findIndex } from '../utils/array'
 import { defaultInfo } from './constants'
 import { merge } from './merge'
-import { applyTemplate } from './template'
 import { inMetaInfoBranch } from './meta-helpers'
 
 export function getComponentMetaInfo (options = {}, component) {
@@ -24,7 +22,7 @@ export function getComponentMetaInfo (options = {}, component) {
  * @return {Object} result - final aggregated result
  */
 export function getComponentOption (options = {}, component, result = {}) {
-  const { keyName, metaTemplateKeyName, tagIDKeyName } = options
+  const { keyName } = options
   const { $options, $children } = component
 
   if (component._inactive) {
@@ -62,20 +60,5 @@ export function getComponentOption (options = {}, component, result = {}) {
     })
   }
 
-  if (metaTemplateKeyName && result.meta) {
-    // apply templates if needed
-    result.meta.forEach(metaObject => applyTemplate(options, metaObject))
-
-    // remove meta items with duplicate vmid's
-    result.meta = result.meta.filter((metaItem, index, arr) => {
-      return (
-        // keep meta item if it doesnt has a vmid
-        !metaItem.hasOwnProperty(tagIDKeyName) ||
-        // or if it's the first item in the array with this vmid
-        index === findIndex(arr, item => item[tagIDKeyName] === metaItem[tagIDKeyName])
-      )
-    })
-  }
-
   return result
 }
diff --git a/src/shared/getMetaInfo.js b/src/shared/getMetaInfo.js
index e5d27e7c..af446d90 100644
--- a/src/shared/getMetaInfo.js
+++ b/src/shared/getMetaInfo.js
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { findIndex } from '../utils/array'
 import { escapeMetaInfo } from '../shared/escaping'
 import { applyTemplate } from './template'
 
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@ import { applyTemplate } from './template'
  * @return {Object} - returned meta info
  */
 export default function getMetaInfo (options = {}, info, escapeSequences = [], component) {
+  const { tagIDKeyName } = options
   // Remove all "template" tags from meta
 
   // backup the title chunk in case user wants access to it
@@ -27,5 +29,21 @@ export default function getMetaInfo (options = {}, info, escapeSequences = [], c
     info.base = Object.keys(info.base).length ? [info.base] : []
   }
 
+  if (info.meta) {
+    // remove meta items with duplicate vmid's
+    info.meta = info.meta.filter((metaItem, index, arr) => {
+      const hasVmid = metaItem.hasOwnProperty(tagIDKeyName)
+      if (!hasVmid) {
+        return true
+      }
+
+      const isFirstItemForVmid = index === findIndex(arr, item => item[tagIDKeyName] === metaItem[tagIDKeyName])
+      return isFirstItemForVmid
+    })
+
+    // apply templates if needed
+    info.meta.forEach(metaObject => applyTemplate(options, metaObject))
+  }
+
   return escapeMetaInfo(options, info, escapeSequences)
 }
diff --git a/src/shared/merge.js b/src/shared/merge.js
index 23dbe698..a251d0ea 100644
--- a/src/shared/merge.js
+++ b/src/shared/merge.js
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ export function arrayMerge ({ component, tagIDKeyName, metaTemplateKeyName, cont
   // using an O(1) lookup associative array exploit
   const destination = []
 
+  if (!target.length && !source.length) {
+    return destination
+  }
+
   target.forEach((targetItem, targetIndex) => {
     // no tagID so no need to check for duplicity
     if (!targetItem[tagIDKeyName]) {
@@ -53,12 +57,17 @@ export function arrayMerge ({ component, tagIDKeyName, metaTemplateKeyName, cont
     }
 
     const sourceTemplate = sourceItem[metaTemplateKeyName]
-
     if (!sourceTemplate) {
       // use parent template and child content
       applyTemplate({ component, metaTemplateKeyName, contentKeyName }, sourceItem, targetTemplate)
-    } else if (!sourceItem[contentKeyName]) {
-      // use child template and parent content
+
+      // set template to true to indicate template was already applied
+      sourceItem.template = true
+      return
+    }
+
+    if (!sourceItem[contentKeyName]) {
+      // use parent content and child template
       applyTemplate({ component, metaTemplateKeyName, contentKeyName }, sourceItem, undefined, targetItem[contentKeyName])
     }
   })
diff --git a/src/shared/template.js b/src/shared/template.js
index 340ce51b..144db827 100644
--- a/src/shared/template.js
+++ b/src/shared/template.js
@@ -1,13 +1,23 @@
 import { isUndefined, isFunction } from '../utils/is-type'
 
 export function applyTemplate ({ component, metaTemplateKeyName, contentKeyName }, headObject, template, chunk) {
-  if (isUndefined(template)) {
+  if (template === true || headObject[metaTemplateKeyName] === true) {
+    // abort, template was already applied
+    return false
+  }
+
+  if (isUndefined(template) && headObject[metaTemplateKeyName]) {
     template = headObject[metaTemplateKeyName]
-    delete headObject[metaTemplateKeyName]
+    headObject[metaTemplateKeyName] = true
   }
 
   // return early if no template defined
   if (!template) {
+    // cleanup faulty template properties
+    if (headObject.hasOwnProperty(metaTemplateKeyName)) {
+      delete headObject[metaTemplateKeyName]
+    }
+
     return false
   }
 
diff --git a/test/unit/getMetaInfo.test.js b/test/unit/getMetaInfo.test.js
index d80b69a6..d15bacb7 100644
--- a/test/unit/getMetaInfo.test.js
+++ b/test/unit/getMetaInfo.test.js
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       }
     })
 
-    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual({
+    const expectedMetaInfo = {
       title: 'Hello',
       titleChunk: 'Hello',
       titleTemplate: '%s',
@@ -262,7 +262,8 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
         {
           vmid: 'og:title',
           property: 'og:title',
-          content: 'Test title - My page'
+          content: 'Test title - My page',
+          template: true
         }
       ],
       base: [],
@@ -272,7 +273,10 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       noscript: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizers: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizersByTagID: {}
-    })
+    }
+
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
   })
 
   test('properly uses function meta templates', () => {
@@ -290,7 +294,7 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       }
     })
 
-    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual({
+    const expectedMetaInfo = {
       title: 'Hello',
       titleChunk: 'Hello',
       titleTemplate: '%s',
@@ -301,7 +305,8 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
         {
           vmid: 'og:title',
           property: 'og:title',
-          content: 'Test title - My page'
+          content: 'Test title - My page',
+          template: true
         }
       ],
       base: [],
@@ -311,7 +316,10 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       noscript: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizers: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizersByTagID: {}
-    })
+    }
+
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
   })
 
   test('properly uses content only if template is not defined', () => {
@@ -460,7 +468,7 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       render: h => h('div', null, [h('merge-child')])
     })
 
-    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual({
+    const expectedMetaInfo = {
       title: 'Hello',
       titleChunk: 'Hello',
       titleTemplate: '%s',
@@ -471,7 +479,8 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
         {
           vmid: 'og:title',
           property: 'og:title',
-          content: 'An important title! - My page'
+          content: 'An important title! - My page',
+          template: true
         }
       ],
       base: [],
@@ -481,7 +490,10 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       noscript: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizers: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizersByTagID: {}
-    })
+    }
+
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
   })
 
   test('properly uses meta templates with one-level-deep nested children template', () => {
@@ -514,7 +526,7 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       render: h => h('div', null, [h('merge-child')])
     })
 
-    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual({
+    const expectedMetaInfo = {
       title: 'Hello',
       titleChunk: 'Hello',
       titleTemplate: '%s',
@@ -525,7 +537,8 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
         {
           vmid: 'og:title',
           property: 'og:title',
-          content: 'Test title - My page'
+          content: 'Test title - My page',
+          template: true
         }
       ],
       base: [],
@@ -535,7 +548,10 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       noscript: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizers: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizersByTagID: {}
-    })
+    }
+
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
   })
 
   test('properly uses meta templates with one-level-deep nested children template and content', () => {
@@ -569,7 +585,7 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       render: h => h('div', null, [h('merge-child')])
     })
 
-    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual({
+    const expectedMetaInfo = {
       title: 'Hello',
       titleChunk: 'Hello',
       titleTemplate: '%s',
@@ -580,7 +596,8 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
         {
           vmid: 'og:title',
           property: 'og:title',
-          content: 'An important title! - My page'
+          content: 'An important title! - My page',
+          template: true
         }
       ],
       base: [],
@@ -590,7 +607,10 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       noscript: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizers: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizersByTagID: {}
-    })
+    }
+
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
   })
 
   test('properly uses meta templates with one-level-deep nested children when parent has no template', () => {
@@ -623,7 +643,7 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       render: h => h('div', null, [h('merge-child')])
     })
 
-    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual({
+    const expectedMetaInfo = {
       title: 'Hello',
       titleChunk: 'Hello',
       titleTemplate: '%s',
@@ -634,7 +654,8 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
         {
           vmid: 'og:title',
           property: 'og:title',
-          content: 'An important title! - My page'
+          content: 'An important title! - My page',
+          template: true
         }
       ],
       base: [],
@@ -644,7 +665,10 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
       noscript: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizers: [],
       __dangerouslyDisableSanitizersByTagID: {}
-    })
+    }
+
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
+    expect(getMetaInfo(component)).toEqual(expectedMetaInfo)
   })
 
   test('no errors when metaInfo returns nothing', () => {
@@ -721,7 +745,8 @@ describe('getMetaInfo', () => {
         {
           vmid: 'og:title',
           property: 'og:title',
-          content: 'Test title - My page'
+          content: 'Test title - My page',
+          template: true
         }
       ],
       base: [],