Key Takeaways for you – how to write a compelling meta description
| – A Meta Description is a summary of the content on a web page and appears under the title and URL of the search results. – Meta descriptions are important for attracting clicks and differentiating your page from competitors. – Follow best practices for writing the meta description of your article, including keeping it under 150 characters, including the focus keyword, and adding a call to action. – While Google may rewrite your meta description, it is still important to write a compelling one for the benefits it offers in terms of user engagement and search visibility. |
This meta word is everywhere today and I still didn’t know what it meant.
So I decided to look it up.
The results showed me the meaning as “(of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre, self-referential.”
That helped me understand what meta descriptions are on a deeper level. It is speaking of itself!
Boasting, rather!
Let me explain where I am getting at.
You are creating amazing content and your pages are ranking like they should. But it’s not enough!
You want to urge people to click on your results, tell them,
“This is it! This is what you are looking for, click on it!”
Even though you cannot actually say that directly, lucky for you there is a space allotted in the SERP where you can place an advertisement of sorts in pure words.
That is your meta description.
Before we get into the whats and whys of meta description, let’s first talk briefly about meta tags and metadata.
What is metadata?
Metadata is something that is used to inform search engines to help them understand your content better without having to go through the entire content itself. It includes titles, keywords, headers, and meta descriptions.
This information helps search engines give context and relevance to your content to the search queries. Each of the elements is an HTML attribute marked with a tag, say a title tag, or header tag.
What is a meta description in SEO?
A meta description is a summary of the content in a given article and it is the second thing a user sees when they find your web page in the search results.
The first thing is the title.
The meta description appears under the title and URL. If titles do a job of catching the attention of users, the meta descriptions are meant to persuade them to click on the page link to read the content.
You get a limit of 160 characters to describe what your content is going to be about and also to convince them that you have the answers to their search queries.
They are not considered direct ranking factors in SEO, but they are said to influence the organic CTR for select keywords.
If they are not ranking factors should you be spending time writing them at all?
Yes!
Let’s see why.
What is a meta description used for?
Our goal here is simple. We are writing the summary of the article in a few words. Think of it as more real estate for your SEO work.
We must add meta descriptions:
To convince people to click on your webpage in the results:
The meta description acts as a sales pitch or an advertisement to your web page to attract users to click on the link.
To differentiate your search page results from other results(competitors).
You get an opportunity to showcase your USP and demonstrate how different your content is compared to others.
To promote your content in social media shares.
The social sharing sites use your given meta description to display along with the shared links. If it is missing the sites may choose random pieces of content from your page and ruin user experience.
To indirectly improve rankings as it boosts your site’s organic CTR.
Since you attract more clicks, it means more organic traffic to your page. Increased CTR indirectly influences rankings.
If you leave an empty meta description, then Google is going to pull out a snippet of content from your page, which may not be so good for you.
So you must write it.
Let me warn you though!
Even if you have written a meta description, Google and other search engines may not use it and rewrite it anyway. Now why would they do that?
Why does Google rewrite your meta description?
It is quite common that Google would show a different meta description than what you provided.
How rude!
Well, before you judge Google for that, I am sure it would have its reasons!
Maybe your description is not so good at summarising your page content. So Google had to find something that matches it best from the on-page content.
There could be other reasons like:
- It is more self-promotional. It is more about you and your brand than what the content can provide for the search made.
- The description is generic and not descriptive enough of the content.
- The page may be relevant for different keywords, or different parts may provide answers for different keywords.
You need to empathize with Google here. You may have noticed in your searches that you find your search words highlighted in the meta description.
(If not, go on, make a search, and check for yourself now!)
The intent here is to find content that matches search intent. And maybe your description does not align with it. So the next best option for Google is to find a few sentences or bits of sentences from different parts of the page that are put together to show that the page has content relating to the words used in the search.
If Google is not using your meta description, should you be writing them at all?
Yes.
If Google is changing it, then it is a good thing and an indication that you must do better. After all, isn’t it our common goal to provide useful and relevant content for search?
That, and for all the other benefits discussed earlier, let us continue to write meta descriptions.
Only, let us learn how to write meta descriptions that Google will accept.
How to write a compelling meta description for SEO in WordPress?
Meta descriptions are focused on users. So put yourself in their shoes and think of what you would expect before you click on a result in a search.
- What is this page about?
- Will this page have the answers I need?
What to write in the meta description?
- Get to the point. In probably one sentence, summarise what the page contains highlighting the most important information first.
- State the benefits. What will the reader gain from visiting your page?
- Include your focus keyword. This is of course another opportunity for on-page optimization. Including the focus, and keyword may make it relevant to the search made.
Best practices for writing meta descriptions
It is ultimately up to the search engine to decide whether or not to include your meta description. You do not have 100% control over it, but you can follow some steps to ensure that you have done everything you can at your end.
Google wants to see words that look useful to users, and you should strive to use these words.
Follow the advised character limit for meta description,
i.e. 150 characters or less. That’s the maximum that would be visible in the SERP.
It should match the content of the page.
Do not write something generic, but specifically about the content on that web page.
It should contain relevant information.
Here is a tip from Google Search Central. Meta descriptions do not have to be in sentence format. Find some examples below:
Write a unique description.
The same meta descriptions for multiple pages are called duplicate meta descriptions. Though you will not be penalized for this, it is better to have a different and unique meta description for each page.
Add a call to action
As an ad sales text, the meta description should have a call to action. Words like Click here to know more, Find more, Try these things, etc are the action words you can use to urge users to click on the link.
Flaunt your USP.
This is a point I mention even for writing powerful titles. Out of the 10 results on the SERP, how is your page different? Mention what new are you offering
Conclusion
Meta descriptions matter even today. It is not a ranking factor, but it can positively influence user engagement and can lead to higher search visibility.
Let us put our best efforts into it while keeping in mind that Google could replace it. Let us not hold grudges as we both want the same thing – the best user experience.
Optimizing meta descriptions should be a part of a long-term SEO strategy. It will need revisits and updates.
Do you know of any other best practices for writing meta descriptions? Let me know in the comments.
