The meta description appears on SERPs as brief summaries of your web pages. They are significant and excellent tools for your website’s traffic. Google stated that meta descriptions are not crucial or necessary for SEO. However, a good meta description can improve your rankings in many ways. So, do you know how to write a powerful meta description? If you follow some basic steps while writing one, you can see your website in the best rankings.
What Is a Meta Description?
The definition of meta is pretty simple. A meta meaning is a short descriptive paragraph embedded in HTML code, meta tag, by a page, a website page. Learn what is meta tag in detail. The meta description appears below the URL in the search results. These meta descriptions also appear whenever an article or content is shared.
Why Meta Description Is Important
The meta description is actually a good marketing factor as it gives readers a piece of concise information about your site. That’s why the original and quality meta description that gets people to click on your site is so important. Your site traffic and customers will increase. It also allows more people to discover your site, as it will directly contribute to your click-through rate. It can also help your ranking in search engines.
Google’s algorithm tries to distinguish websites from each other. It aims to show the most accurate websites and web pages in front of users. One of Google’s ways of comparison is ranking according to meta descriptions.
Since meta descriptions should include brief summaries of your content, you can write the most accurate ones. It will make your website proper for Google’s algorithm. Therefore, when people search for your content, services, or products, Google will show them your web page.
How to Write a Meta Description
According to Google’s guidelines, you can write a powerful meta description for your website. These are basic points that you should keep in mind while writing one.
Do not exceed 150 characters.
Google suggests 160 characters for meta descriptions. Otherwise, your descriptions appear incomplete. Thus, users may not understand your content or your point. To be visible clearly, it would be best for you not to exceed 150 characters. Let’s look at the meta description example here.
Be clear and accurate.
Accuracy is one of the most important factors that determine the quality of your meta descriptions. You should describe the entire content in a few sentences. Besides, these few sentences should motivate readers to click the link and check the website. If you can give the necessary information and still create curiosity, readers do not hesitate to click the link.
Keep each meta description original and unique.
Even your pages include similar content, and each meta description should be unique. Do not use the exact text for all pages. Describe unique aspects of your content in each meta description.
Use call-to-action strategies in your meta descriptions.
Using a call-to-action phrase is one of the best motivators in meta descriptions. Besides, they clearly imply your content and the aim of your content. For instance, if you are describing the ways of getting followers on Instagram, you can include a phrase like “learn how to increase your followers on Instagram.” It both motivates users to click and contains your content’s goal.
Other than that, you can show your offerings in the call-to-action phrases. If you are offering a special discount or a free trial, you can include it by saying that “Sign up for a 2-week free trial”.
Stick with your SEO strategies.
When website owners publish new content or a new page on their websites, they follow particular SEO strategies that can increase traffic. These strategies should be in meta descriptions for SEO, too, because they are the factors that help Google to distinguish websites from each other. For instance, including meta keywords or keyword phrases, using the call to action methods, or brief and clear descriptions are the basic SEO strategies. They will not be enough if you only use them in your content or blog post. You should include them in all parts of your website.
Be careful about your words and sentences.
When it comes to the details of your meta descriptions, there are several things that you should be careful about. Firstly, do not use passive voice. Google prefers active sentences according to its algorithm. A passive voice may make sentences unclear.
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Secondly, stick with your company’s tone and attitude. If you are trying to keep your corporal identity strict, use formal language in your meta descriptions too. However, if you are aiming to entertain your readers, you can use more friendly language.
You should also learn how to add meta description in WordPress for future use.
Conclusion
Although most people think that meta descriptions are not significant for SEO anymore, it is a misunderstanding. They still matter when it comes to click-through rates. When users are appealed by your page, they click and check your website. These clicks increase your website’s traffic. Therefore, it affects your SEO. It means that you should include as much as clear information and motivation for readers. In other words, you should focus on people who may see your meta descriptions instead of search engines. If you follow these basic steps, you can create an excellent and powerful meta description.
1 Comment
This blog post provides a great explanation of what a meta description is and how it can help improve SEO. However, it could have gone into more detail about the importance of crafting unique, keyword-rich meta descriptions for each page.