How to Write the Perfect Meta Description

Writing an informative and engaging Meta Description is vitally important to the success of any website in the search engine result pages. But you’d be surprised how many business owners and website companies neglect this fantastic opportunity to promote the business. It’s therefore even more vital to follow this helpful guide on how to write the perfect Meta Description.

First things first; what is a Meta Description?

Essentially, a Meta Description is the snippet of text you see underneath the link of a search result on Google, or any of the other search engines. Its purpose is to describe the contents of the linked page to the searcher and convince them to click through to the website.

How to write the perfect Meta Description

There are six key factors in the writing of a successful Meta Description. So follow these helpful tips and tricks and give your website, or client’s website, the best chance for visits and sales enquiries;

Place your most important keywords in the meta description

It sounds obvious but it’s important to make sure that your main keywords are mentioned in the meta description. Not only will this give potential customers an idea of what you’re selling or providing, it will also please Google. Quite often, Google and the other search engines will highlight in bold where it finds the searcher’s query in your snippet. Therefore, having what you’re promoting right there in the description will leave no chance for confusion.

Write readable, engaging and legible copy

This is perhaps the most important aspect of writing any successful Meta Description. When writing a Meta Description, you must pay attention to how well it reads. It must read like a normal, human-written sentence; not something created by a bot. Ignoring this simple rule will ensure that anyone reading it will assume the link leads to a spammy website and therefore stay well clear. Also, make sure you avoid keyword stuffing. Google’s not stupid and will spot what you’re doing.

Write an authentic and well-sculpted Meta Description and you will reap the rewards that come from that. Chuck any old thing in for quickness and your website won’t generate you anywhere near as much traffic as it could.

Treat it like it’s an advert

People searching on Google and the other search engines don’t have time to waste. They want to know exactly what you do and they want to be intrigued by what you have to offer. Your Meta Description therefore must be as engaging as possible. It’s your job to make it compelling and relevant enough to encourage them to click on the link. There’s no point in having the most beautiful website and well written content if nobody is going to visit it.

Your Meta Description must match the content on the website, but you should also make it as appealing as possible. You should therefore treat it like it’s an advert for your business. Make it short and sweet but relevant and compelling so that people click on that all-important link.

Make sure your Meta Description isn’t too long

While Google has recently been testing longer snippets, don’t fall into the trap of writing longer Meta Descriptions just to get more keyword information in. No Meta Description should ideally be longer than 160 characters long. While it’s sometimes unavoidable to write one longer than this, you should always do what you can to keep them between 135 and 160 characters.

If they are any longer than this, Google and the other search engines, will chop the end off. Not only will this make the description less relevant, it will also potentially cause the user to look elsewhere. If you can’t cut it down, make sure any important keywords are nearer the front. This will avoid them being cut out.

Never duplicate your Meta Descriptions

Quite simply, if you duplicate your Meta Descriptions, Google could well penalise you for it. It’s the same as title tags; Meta Descriptions must be written differently for every page. Not only will this avoid potential punishment from Google and the other search engines, it will also make it easy for you to prioritise individual keywords. Your potential customers will also find it easy to find the information they need too.

Consider using Schema markups and rich snippets

By using Schema markups, you can add elements to your snippets and Meta Descriptions to increase their potential appeal. For instance, through these markups, you could add star ratings or customer ratings and more product information. Essentially, the more information you can give Google and the other search engines, the more helpful your snippets and Meta Descriptions will be for potential users. To find out more about Schema, or to generate one for your website, visit the JSON-LD Schema Generator.

If you follow these simple guidelines and tips, your Meta Description is far more likely to generate the traffic your website deserves. It’s also worth trying different strategies out too. If you find that one particular style is working well for you (short and sharp for instance) then use that style across the whole of your site. Should you not have the time or energy to write your own Meta Descriptions, make sure they’re written by experienced professionals.

At Smart Domain Group, we specialise in white-hat search engine optimisation techniques, including the writing of effective Meta Descriptions. Our talented copywriters know how to craft first-class copy and what information needs to be included in any Meta Description. Call us today on 01634 810600 to discuss how we can help improve your Meta Descriptions and generate you that all-important website traffic.