Over the years, the value of meta descriptions in search engine rankings has dwindled, but meta descriptions continue to retain their value in terms of user behaviour. Provided your meta descriptions are written properly, they will continue to play an important role for your website’s SEO value.
What is a Meta Description?
A meta description is a small piece of text describing the contents of a particular web page. It should be no longer than 156 characters in length (otherwise it will be truncated by Google), and is designed to attract searchers to enter your website.
How can a Meta Description Bring Value to my Website’s SEO?
A meta description essentially acts as an ‘advertisement’ for your business in organic search results. When your website ranks in search engine results for a particular keyword, the meta description will show up in the search engine results. For this reason, it’s paramount that your metadata is written perfectly.
How can you Boost Click Through Rates with a Meta Description
Meta descriptions need to incorporate a combination of factors in order to be effective.
First of all, they need to be descriptive enough so that the reader gets a clear and concise picture of what the page is about before they decide to click through. They should also be persuasive in nature as they are designed to push the reader into deciding to visit the page.
Another easy way to encourage readers to click through is to inspire curiosity. By the time the reader has finished reading the meta description, they will be curious enough to want to click through and learn what they page is all about.
Finally, you should incorporate relevant keywords into your meta description. Although the meta description isn’t necessarily acknowledged by Google or other search engines for SEO purposes, it will have relevance to your readers as this is how they will have found you in the first place.
Here is an example of a meta description that incorporates all of the above elements:
‘Looking for some delicious chocolate fudge cake recipes that are really easy to make? Read on for our secret ingredient to making a delicious chocolate cake’.
This meta description truly inspires curiosity through the mention of a ‘secret ingredient’. It also contains relevant keywords (delicious chocolate fudge cake recipes/delicious chocolate cake), is no longer than 156 characters in length and has persuasive characteristics.
Closing Thoughts on Meta Descriptions
Although Google no longer places so much emphasis on meta descriptions, they are still important in compelling human visitors to click through to your website. For this reason, you should not neglect them when crafting content as they are the last thing standing between you and a site visitor.
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