When trying to optimize websites for search people sometimes wonder what exactly are meta descriptions and if they are still relevant? The short answer is yes and here is why.
A meta description is a piece of information that appears below the website link of a search result. It aims at providing a brief description of the page’s content. The meta description doesn’t directly affect your SEO ranking but click through rates and user behavior do. They help you boost your CTR rate as any words that match what the user is looking for are highlighted with bold letters. Here are five ways on how to write more effective meta descriptions:
- The description should be accurate as to what someone should expect when clicking on your link. It must provide an answer and at the same time peak your interest. Avoid clickbait titles that aim at deceiving.
- We suggest that the length of the meta description remains under 158 characters. Anything over that and google will cut it short.
- Include action verbs in them like “subscribe”, “learn” or “explore” surrounded by beneficial explanatory content.
- Meta descriptions should contain the focus keyword at the beginning of the first sentence.
- Must include structured content. That means noticeable to search engines, adaptive to any platform and durable in time.
As far as content management systems go if you are on Wordpress we recommend using the Yoast plugin to make the process easier. Other platforms like Wix or Squarespace have built-in options.
Finally, make certain that your content is original. It’s crucial to plan out each page and try to make the description enticing. Once you know what users want and what works for your brand you can create a powerful meta description for every single page.
