Making sure you are up to date with the latest techniques in SEO is a constant struggle for content marketing. But one of the most important elements of the search results is expected to be relevant for many decades, and that is the meta description.
In this article, we’ll examine the meaning of meta descriptions, why they’re crucial, and how you can improve them to increase click-throughs and boost your rankings over time.
What Are Meta Descriptions?
The meta description is a short textual description that appears under a webpage’s URL on search results pages. Its goal is to provide a summary of the content of a website page to make it easier for both search engines and users and to convince people to visit your site. The words that correspond to the query being searched are highlighted within the text description.
Why Are Meta Descriptions Important?
Although they don’t directly affect the search engine results Meta descriptions are an essential part of the user experience. They can convince more visitors to click on your website and stay on your website longer, which ultimately boosts your website’s ranking.
The more attractive and useful the content is to people searching, the more likely they are to go to your site, and that’s why it’s essential to make them as interesting as you can.
Tips for Writing Meta Descriptions That Get More Clicks
Don’t Worry Too Much About Character Length
In May 2018, Google went back to displaying shorter meta descriptions. As per Moz, the majority of listings are no longer within the range of around 160-155 characters. Does that mean that your descriptions shouldn’t be greater than 160 words? Not necessarily.
A study by SEMrush showed that descriptions that were longer than 332 characters were more effective and were ranked higher despite being separated mid-sentence in the results of a search. The sentences that are not complete can add some interest. As long as you’re describing your site’s contents, you’re on the right path.
Answer User Questions
Search engines are used by people to search for answers. If you can answer specific questions within your meta description, a lot more people are likely to click to learn more.
Understand User Intent
What are your customers doing? If they’re searching for information, they’ll want to find words such as “learn” and “discover.” If they’re looking to purchase something, they’re likely to see sales-related terms that convey worth.
Use a CTA
A call to action, or CTA, will encourage people to click your link because it asks visitors to take a specific action. For instance, “buy now,” “download our report,” or “read our review.”
Highlight the Benefits
The description is your opportunity to inform readers how they will benefit from reading your material. Inform readers about what they’ll be able to learn, acquire, or feel upon clicking through.
Be Interesting and Specific
If your material is too bland, your content won’t attract as many readers. Be sure to stand out using interesting language, steer clear of keyword stuffing, and stay straight to the essence. To build confidence, provide an interesting portion of the text or provide interesting statistics.
Use Your Keywords
Since keywords that are relevant to the query of a user are highlighted on the page, you should try to align your descriptions with the keywords you wish to get a position for. Make sure to include important keywords at the start of the description; however, don’t overuse them because it’s like a fake and makes you appear desperate to get clicks.
Optimize for Rich Snippets
The majority of search engines use rich snippets of markup to improve the results of their search. These additional elements can improve the credibility of your listings and boost click-throughs. Find out the details about what you can do to maximize your rich snippets of text and schema markup.
Deliver on Your Promise
If the content on your landing page isn’t in line with your meta descriptions, then you’re bound to disappoint a lot of people and hurt your credibility. Do not deceive users to get them to click, as this could hurt your search engine rankings, as your bounce rate will go up.
In Summary
The quality of your meta descriptions could be the difference between getting your website’s link clicked or not. The earlier you can write a great meta description, the faster you’ll be able to start getting better ranking on search engines.
A lot of content marketers fail to consider their meta descriptions, yet it’s the simplest and most effective method to increase visitors to the website and increase the rankings of your website in search engines.
Utilize these tips to craft more appealing meta descriptions for your site. You may be amazed at how many people can convince you over your opponents.
