What is a Meta description?
As per the urban dictionary, the term meta means- about the thing itself. The meta description refers to the description of the link/blog/website/ database or any other search result. It is the black text present below the URL that describes what who can expect to read or see on clicking on the link.
Why are meta descriptions important?
Like any other description, a meta description makes people understand what your content is about and why they should bother reading about it in the very first place. If you have written a good description, it will give an impression to the reader that the article or content of your website is well organized and to the point. You will get more people to click on the link and this will increase your click-through rate and ranking on Google. You must have a meta description, we cannot compromise on it. It tells people you are real and have invested time in conveying the message of your page.
Ideal length of a meta description?
Well, as is with many things- Google knows best. What this means is that the search engine changes the length of the meta tags frequently and will not display the extra words if it shortens the word limit. Therefore, keep looking at what Google expects and change the length of the meta description frequently. Do not make it verbose and difficult to understand.
Current Meta Description Length: 155 – 160 characters
Characteristics of a good meta description
A good meta tag is short and matches the content of the page we have written it for. It is not click bait and describes the title of the search result. The same must be attractive and clear. Metadata tells people why they should click on the link and that the website is authentic and real.
Examples of a good meta description
A good description will be short and to the point. It will not contain any unnecessary information that will confuse the reader. Let’s look at some examples before going any further-
Focus on the mission
Describing your venture and mentioning your belief system. The following meta description states the mission of the venture.
Generate Curiosity
The following description generates curiosity and attracts people to “discover more”
A straightforward, clear description and a call to action
This one describes the website clearly (in a very brief manner) and also calls for urgent action.
Offer the reader something if he or she clicks on the link.
This description defines the web page and along conveys that you need to click on the link to contact the creator.
How to improve your meta description
Keep checking-
A good description keeps changing. Why? Because Google keeps changing. Ideally, keep checking how your meta description looks in the search results. Google may shorten your description so will check that the most important sentences of your descriptions are not unnecessarily edited out by the search engine.
Make it interactive-
Try to reach out to people via the meta tags and convince them to click on the link. It’s like an opportunity to pitch your online existence to people on the web. Make sure people get some distinct insight into your website/ page and want to know more.
Write a different meta description of each page-
If you write the same description for all your pages, they will appear to be the same. People looking for information will feel that the content is repetitive and there is not much data from your end. A unique meta information shows the efforts you put in to attract people.
Don’t cheat-
If your description does not match the content of your page. The bounce rate of your blog will increase. So write a description that is clear and in line with the content you want people to see. There is no use of writing unnecessary click baits in the description. The search engine is smart enough to take action against such pages. So don’t mess with Google.
Balance the key-phrase-
Include the key-phrase in your meta statement as it increases how many people click on the link and hence improves your page’s search ranking. Despite this, you should not crowd the description with keywords. Balance the content appropriately.
You will understand the last 3 subheadings if you have Yoast Plugin activated on your WordPress website.
What does the key-phrase in a meta description assessment do?
The key phrase in the meta data assessment checks how many times have you included the keywords from the key phrase. It also analyses keyword crowding and allows you to balance the keyword usage in your meta description.
Why is it important to use your keyphrase in your meta description?
We recommend using the keyphrase in your meta description. It helps your page be found easily and also increases the number of people who click on the link. It also tells people they can easily find the information that they are looking for in your link.
How to get that green bullet?
If you have stuffed your meta description with too many words from your keyphrase or have skipped most of the words for whatsoever reason, you will receive a red score for your meta description. If you use all the words from the keyphrase at least once in one sentence, you will receive the green bullet for the description.
Have you checked this: Perfect guide to meta tags optimization