SEO is a very important segment of your strategy for ranking higher in Google and getting your business or brand out there. It’s a layered and complex notion that requires you to work hard in order to build it the right way. But, with the properly built SEO strategy, you’ll be able to reach your goals faster. And meta descriptions are among the SEO-related areas you have to cover.
Writing effective meta descriptions will boost your SEO and help Google algorithms recognise your content as valuable for specific searches. That’s why it’s important that you write compelling and powerful meta descriptions. If you’re not sure how to do it, just keep reading.
Here are the best tips to help you write an effective meta description for SEO. Let’s break it down together.
What is Meta Description?
First things first, let’s take a closer look at the notion of meta description and learn what it actually is. A meta description is a short description of the page that summarises its content in order to make it appealing for both search engines and people. It’s one of the most important on-page SEO segments.
It’s the text that appears in Google search results, under the page title. This way, potential website visitors can learn about your page before they decide to click it and check it out. Also, the meta description signals to Google algorithms, whether the content of the page is suitable for a specific search.
That’s why we can say that meta description makes your page more appealing to the target audience and more valuable to Google algorithms.
How to Write an Effective Meta Description?
In order to write great meta descriptions over and over again, you should develop a system that works every time. Luckily, we’ve decided to do it for you and share our best tips and guidance points to help you nail it every time. Below, you’ll find the dos and don’ts of writing effective meta descriptions that you can apply to all your future writings. Let’s dig deeper together.
Answer the Burning Questions. Every great meta description should be able to summarise the most important details about the webpage using as few characters as possible. However, there are those burning questions that your meta description simply has to answer:
- What is the page about?
- What value does it provide?
- Who should read it?
- Why choose this page?
You have to help the readers and potential visitors decide your page is the best choice for their search. Unless you provide the information listed above, they’ll be uncertain whether you’re the right choice for them or not. Therefore, keep the burning questions in mind every time you write a new meta description and make sure it sticks out.
Watch the Length. Depending on the subject matter of the webpage, your meta descriptions are going to differ. Sometimes there’ll be more to say and sometimes less. But, it’s important that you watch the number of characters you’re using. The general rule says a meta description should be 50-160 characters long. While this is a rule recommended by experts and marketers from all over, we would like to modify it a bit. Here’s our rule: make the meta description as compelling but also as short as possible.
If you can fit all the major information into a short paragraph, do it. Don’t write anything that isn’t super-valuable and important. A shorter meta description is easier to read and more convincing, so make sure that’s your aim.
Insert Keywords. If you’re writing meta descriptions for SEO, then you should know all about the importance of keywords. Keywords are another way for you to help search engines recognise your content as valuable for a query and make it rank higher for it. The keywords you use within your content should also be visible in your meta description. Let’s say you wrote a blog post about the best gardening tools for making your own garden. The meta description would be something like:
- To start your own garden, you’ll need to use the best gardening tools. Learn about the best tools to use to build your own garden from scratch.
The phrases in bold are the keywords people are going to type in Google and look for in your page title, meta description, and page content. Use keywords in your meta description, and it will boost your SEO.
Insert a CTA. A call-to-action (CTA) is an element you should consider adding to your meta description. Actionable language such as the one used to write great CTAs can help you win your audience over. So, instead of just stating what the page content is all about, why not invite your potential audience to take action? Here’s an example:
- Learn about the 8 superfoods that can boost your energy. Make the right changes and embrace a healthier lifestyle today!
Actionable language and CTA combined to create a powerful, memorable message that will boost the effectiveness of your meta description and help you get more clicks. Try making it more actionable and energised to win over the target audience.
Add Personality. Everything that you write and publish says something about your brand or your business. Whether it’s a social media post caption or a reply to a customer review, it all counts. The same goes for your meta description. The meta description adds up to your brand image. This is why you need to make it more unique and original. So, if your brand personality is quirky and funny like M&M’s, you should make your meta description the same way. Think about the following before writing your meta description:
- brand image
- brand personality
- target audience’s preferences
Make sure you stay consistent and create meta descriptions that are in agreement with everything else you write and publish.
Don’t Reuse the Same Meta Description. Think of it this way – people online are looking for uniqueness, dedication, and professionalism. Your competition is strong, and they are looking for new ways to crush you every day. And here you are, thinking about reusing the same meta description for more than one page? That is not an option. So, instead of pasting the same general meta description from one page to the other, you need to:
- create unique meta descriptions for each page
- show how special each of your pages is
- write for a specific page
In case you need help with any kind of writing, you can check out these thesis sites and see what they offer. So, forget about reusing meta descriptions and focus on making each page shine. Once you write a certain number of effective meta descriptions, you’ll have enough experience to write them within 10 minutes.
Don’t Stuff With Keywords. As we’ve already covered, keywords are an important part of your meta descriptions. Still, there’s a fine line between using the right keywords and keyword stuffing. Let’s say you’re writing about baby equipment and baby strollers. Your content keywords are:
- best baby strollers
- how to choose a baby stroller
- baby equipment
- buy baby equipment online
- buy baby stroller online
All of these keywords can fit your content naturally, but it’s impossible to make them all work in a single meta description. That’s why you have to prioritise and choose the ones that are more important. Compare these examples:
- If you want to buy baby strollers online, we’ve got you covered. Here’s how to choose a baby stroller for your little one!
- Great baby equipment and best baby strollers; Buy baby equipment online; How to choose a baby stroller? Find all the baby equipment you need in one place and buy a baby stroller online!
The second example shows just how bad keyword stuffing is and how damaging it can be for your meta description. So stick to a natural approach and add the keywords that are a top priority.
Writing an effective meta description for SEO is easy if you have the right strategy. Understanding the essence of meta descriptions will help you write better ones and achieve higher goals. Hopefully, the list above helped you understand how to write killer meta descriptions. Use it as guidance for building a strategy you’ll follow each time you write a new meta description.
