A meta description is one of the most important SEO elements. What is a meta description? It is a short description of an article’s content that users see under the Title tag in search results. A correct description can help you a lot, so keep reading: we’ll tell you all you need to know about this tag.
What can a correctly written description do for you?
First of all, a description tag helps to increase the number of clicks and popularity. With the help of this meta-tag, you can quickly and easily familiarize users with what will be discussed and arouse their interest. You can easily show offers of the resource by writing them in the title and description. For example, a person needs to have the product delivered “to the door.” In this case, he will definitely go to the site, in the description of which there is a mark “delivery by courier.”
Correct title and description meta-tags (as well as correctly selected keywords) instantly attract attention, convincing Internet users to choose this particular site among competitors. So, let’s figure out how to write a meta description correctly.
How to write meta descriptions correctly?
The description is second in importance after the title. The description meta tag (as well as the title) can attract and repel users (if it is filled in incorrectly).
Here are some basic rules that will help you create an effective and beautiful description:
- Length. The optimal length of the description is up to 135 characters with spaces. Google also has an enhanced snippet that contains additional valuable information for users. The length of an extended snippet is up to 320 characters with spaces. Why does Google make rich snippets, you ask? All for the convenience of users. Google has decided that the more informative the description, the clearer for you what this site offers. Make the most of this innovation and implement structured data on the page.
- Informativeness. The correct description meta tag is a kind of additional advertisement for the site. Try to write here interesting, attention-grabbing features of the site and offers that are difficult to refuse. For example, “up to 80% off”, “sale”, “1 day delivery”, “wholesale, retail”, “manufacturer’s price”, “custom order”, “1 year warranty”, etc.
- Uniqueness. Just like with the title, for each page, you need to write a separate description meta tag, that is, a new text each time.
- Key requests. For description, we advise you to choose only high-frequency requests. You can utilize specialized tools to identify those.
- Call to action. To make the description effective and look finished, make a call to action at the end of the description. For this, you can use the following words: call, order, receive, find out, switch, etc. If the article is informative, you can attract users by promising them to answer interesting or problematic questions.
- No mistakes. The presence of spelling errors in the tag will reduce the motivation of users to go to the site.
- Analyze competitors’ meta tag examples. This does not mean that you need to copy them, but be sure to read the descriptions of sites from the top of search results and try to make yours more informative and useful for users.
The six characteristics of all good meta-descriptions
You already know how to write nice descriptions. But a good description is more than just a correct number of letters and a keyword somewhere in the middle. We have selected the top six characteristics of a really good description.
Good meta-descriptions are part of a larger image
If all your descriptions are accurately written, correspond to topics, and are well-structured, they create a better image of your resource. Descriptions are often underestimated, but it’s better not to neglect them: they can really make your platform more successful.
Quality meta descriptions interest people
It all comes down to this: a person searches on Google, sees the results, and chooses one of the best platforms. With a little luck, it’s yours. But, even if a user doesn’t choose your site first, he probably noted pages that seemed most interesting (if you apply our tips, yours should certainly be one of them).
Good meta-descriptions are usually written taking into account the people’s intention
When writing your meta-description, it is good to think about the main keyword on your page, as well as any other long-tail keywords, and try to integrate them. Remember, however, that a person has an intention and that this intention can be deeper than the simple request he/she has entered.
This is why it is important to go beyond basic keyword research and try to understand the state of mind of the person looking for what you offer on the Internet. (this is a little beyond the scope of this article, but we are talking about demographic, psychographic data, behavior, level of knowledge of the subject, etc.). It may seem difficult, but it is not so. For example, if you sell dishwashers, you can write a description like this: “Are you tired of washing dishes by hand? Buy a dishwasher with up to 80$ off! Forget about the routine: check our offer.” As a result, a person will be interested: you touch triggers, and they are guaranteed to work.
Good meta descriptions are well-written and produce a good first impression
A well-written text is easier to understand and follow. Try not to use too lengthy words or make the reader stumble.
Good meta-descriptions include an element of curiosity and/or personal interest
This is probably one of the most important aspects of an amazing and quality description. Any good meta-description evokes some form of curiosity or personal interest – otherwise, the researcher will not click on it.
Good descriptions are written taking into account the visitor’s search intent, and they are formulated in such a way as to arouse interest and curiosity. Curiosity and personal interest go far beyond this subject – they are each an important factor that explains why we do a lot of things.
That said, try not to be so abstract that your potential visitor doesn’t know what to expect. Confused users will never enter your site! So, an amazing meta-description piques curiosity but balances this curiosity with specificity.
Excellent meta-descriptions start or introduce something convincing
This characteristic is similar to curiosity and personal interest, but we think it is important enough to deserve its own subtitle. A great SEO meta-description starts something (a thought or an idea) and encourages the researcher to continue… on your page.
In the end, the right meta-descriptions encourage the reader to click
That’s the goal, isn’t it? Someone enters a query in a search engine, then sees some excerpts from search results and decides to visit your blog post (or web page), which will result in organic traffic to your page.
All in all, we recommend giving every page a separate description: this way, you will definitely get more organic traffic and interested visitors who will come back.