Have you ever paid attention to your page’s meta description? It’s a 120-160 character summary that gives visitors to your website a short overview of what you have to offer. Getting the meta description of your page or website right is a certain strategy to attract visitors.
What is a Meta Description?
A meta description is a one- or two-sentence HTML element that summarises the contents of your page and your offerings. Visitors can use this 20-160 character description to determine whether the content on your website is relevant to them. It appears below the title tag and URL (website link) and gives consumers a quick overview of what’s behind the link.
Because the meta description is so brief, it must be succinct while yet being engaging.
Importance of Meta Description
The majority of content writers and marketers assume that their page’s title tag is all that matters. However, if a title tag attracts attention, a meta description keeps it. According to Ahrefs, Google Search Engine Results Pages, or SERPs, display around 37% of meta descriptions in their original form and rewrite the rest 63%.
As a result, if you don’t pay attention to your meta description, Google will take over and extract meta tags for you. If you don’t include a title tag, social networking services like Twitter will remove the first few lines of your material.
Despite the fact that a meta description is not a direct ranking element on search engines, it is one of the first few lines that users see. As a result, they serve as an auxiliary ranking element. A well-written meta description stands out from the competition while still being useful to visitors. It encourages consumers to click on your website link, resulting in organic growth and a higher click-through rate.
Even if your webpage contains gold-standard information, most readers are likely to skip over it due to a carelessly written meta description. As a result, you should pay close attention to the way you phrase your meta description.
ALSO READ: What are Meta Tags?
How to Write Meta Descriptions?
Previously, meta descriptions were solely focused on keywords. However, Google rewired its algorithm and lowered the value of meta descriptions as a result of excessive keyword stuffing and spamming. They are still relevant, but the emphasis is now on writing high-quality, one-of-a-kind material.
If you’re having trouble coming up with an interesting meta description, follow this step-by-step guide:
Use Keywords Concisely
As previously said, in the early 2010s, the focus switched from keywords being the only criterion in determining the relevancy of a meta description to quality content. Because you’ll be putting keywords in your title tag most of the time, you may shift your focus away from them when wording the meta description and focus on what your content is all about.
Write a Readable Meta Description
Your meta description should be written in a clear and concise manner. Don’t use jargon or technical terms, and consider what your audience might want. Instead of trying to sound like an expert, frame the meta description in a way that shows you’ve put yourself in the shoes of the user.
Keep it Short
For smartphones, your meta description should be around 120 characters long, and for desktops, it should be around 160 characters long. Readers will see dots (…..) if the length of the text exceeds the selected character range, which can be distracting. Good meta description examples may be found on websites like Shopify, HealthLine, Nordstrom, and any other competitors in the same league.
Write Compelling and Relevant Meta Descriptions
Every word in your meta description must be captivating and serve a purpose. Trying to put yourself in your audience’s shoes is an excellent technique to come up with an appealing meta description. You’ll notice a consistent thread in your users’ search intent if you look for the why, what, when, and where behind each search query.
ALSO READ: What is the Difference Between Title Tags and Page Heading?
Don’t Duplicate
Duplicating a meta description that already exists is a big no-no. In the meta description, plagiarised or rewritten information might provide a terrible first impression and erode users’ faith in you. This has an even greater negative impact if your meta description is plagiarised from a well-known competitor, as people are more likely to believe numbers and those in the lead.
It Should be Actionable
Your meta description should entice users to take action and visit your website. Writing your meta description in the active voice, for example, yields far better results than writing it in the passive mode. The active voice makes the searcher the centre of attention in a sentence, giving them a sense of direct participation.
It becomes more meaningful to the user than a passive and abstract tone because it inspires action.
Consider Adding a CTA to the Meta Description
A call-to-action, or CTA, is a direct and clickable link that directs users to your page in exchange for something worthwhile. For example, a meta description that concludes with a phrase like “free trial,” “sign up for free,” “take a free test,” or something similar is likely to receive more clicks because it offers the user something useful.
Including a call-to-action (CTA) in your meta description will help you get more clicks.
It Should Match Your Content
If the content provided does not attract their attention within a few seconds, people are more likely to skim through web search results. Users may be misled if your meta description differs significantly from your web content and title tag. To increase readership, your meta description should compliment your inner content and top title tag.
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