Wondering how to write meta descriptions, and what impact they have on SEO?
Meta descriptions provide short summaries of what’s on a webpage to people who are using search engines. They tell searchers what to expect from the page, and can help website owners get more clicks.
In this article, we’ll go through how to write meta descriptions for SEO that are irresistible and help drive more clicks.
What is a Meta Description?
A meta description is a snippet of text that describes the contents of your page. It’s a meta tag in HTML, and it appears on search engine results pages (SERPs) under your meta title and URL.
Here’s what a meta description looks like on Google:
And if you open the page source on your browser, you can see the HTML part of the description:
Meta descriptions explain what the page contains. When a user enters a search query on Google, for instance, they can read the description to have an idea of what’s inside the link.
Along with search engines, social media platforms can also display your meta descriptions when you share your content with your followers.
Meta Description Length
As for how long should a meta description be, then you should try to keep them within 155 – 160 characters in length (including spaces).
You can use different meta description length checker tools to keep your snippets within the limits.
And if you’re using WordPress, then the All in One SEO plugin can help you a lot with your meta descriptions.
With All in One SEO, you can type your meta description manually or use the tags with different variables. As you enter your description, keep an eye on the character count at the bottom. If it turns red, you’ve gone over the maximum recommended characters. You can also see a preview of how it will look at search results.
But are meta descriptions really important for your website? What are their purpose?
Why Are Meta Descriptions Important?
The main purpose of a meta description is to get people to click on your link and visit your webpage.
While meta descriptions used to be used by Google as a ranking factor, they are no longer a ranking factor for Google. For this reason, many people don’t enter a meta description for their pages.
However, meta descriptions play an important and indirect role in boosting your site’s SEO! Writing meta descriptions is not a step you should skip, as Google considers the click-through rate (CTR) of your pages as one of its ranking factors.
So, if you can get your meta descriptions right and make them compelling, you’ll get more clicks and boost your CTR. And with higher CTR, you can improve your rankings in search engines.
Does Google Rewrite Meta Descriptions?
Yes, Google does rewrite your meta descriptions a lot of the time (possibly over 70% of the time). It does that to try to show searchers the exact content on your page that matches their query.
However, it’s still important to write your own meta descriptions and not rely on Google to grab the right content from your page every single time it comes up in search results.
Now. let’s take a look at how you can create SEO-friendly descriptions for your website.
How to Write Meta Descriptions
To come up with meta descriptions that instantly capture your user’s attention, you can give these best practices a try.
1. Keep Your Descriptions Simple and Conversational
When it comes to writing meta descriptions, remember that you’re creating them for people and not for search engines. So, try to keep them conversational and use natural language so anyone can easily understand them and want to click on your link.
Consider this meta description example by OptinMonster. It asks a question at the start to keep it conversational and provides a simple explanation of what you can expect if you click on the link.
2. Include Your SEO Keywords in Meta Descriptions
By adding your focus keyword in your meta description, you have a higher chance of getting more clicks. That’s because search engines like Google bold the search term in the meta description tag.
For instance, if you search for SEO on Google, you’ll notice that the search term is bold in the description.
However, make sure not to stuff keywords in your descriptions or it will lead to a penalty. Not to mention a bad user experience, since people will not know what your webpage is offering.
3. Add Power Words to Capture Emotions
Power words are phrases or words that add emotion to your content. You can use words like “limited time” or “sale ends soon” to create urgency. Or you can spark curiosity with phrases like “thought-provoking” and “invitation only”.
Here are over 700 power words you can use to make your meta descriptions irresistible.
4. Make Sure You Provide a Call-to-Action
If you want people to click on your link or perform any action, it’s important that you include a call-to-action (CTA) in your meta descriptions.
You can add CTAs like “check it out” to get people to visit your website. And if you want to get users to complete a goal, then CTAs such as create an account, sign up, or buy now work really well.
For example, Apple adds a buy now CTA in its meta description for its iPhone 11 Pro page.
5. Try to Write Within Character Limits
Meta description length is around 155 to 160 characters, so you should try to keep within these limits when drafting a description.
In general, put your most important keyword and information close to the beginning.
6. Create Unique Meta Descriptions for Each Page
It’s important that you write different and unique meta descriptions for each page or you’ll risk duplication.
Having the same descriptions for multiple pages doesn’t send a good signal to the search engine or to your users.
Imagine if you’re selling shoes online and have the same meta description for all your products. Your visitors will have a very difficult time finding the pair of shoes they’re looking for. As a result, they won’t click on your page and go to another website.
7. Your Meta Description Should Match Your Content
Another important point to remember is that your descriptions should match the content of your webpage. If you create meta descriptions that are misleading or bait users into clicking on your link, you’ll risk getting a penalty from Google.
Along with a penalty, you’ll also get a high bounce rate if users don’t find what they wanted on your webpage. So, always try to match your descriptions with your content.
And that’s it for this post!
You now know the importance of meta description and why you should be using them.
We hope you liked our article on how to write irresistible meta descriptions for SEO and more clicks. You can also go through our guide on Google Analytics for publishers.
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more helpful articles about WordPress and Google Analytics.