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ByRadiateWP

What is a meta-description?

The meta description is a way of describing your website page to potential visitors. Google displays the meta description text below your search result title, along with the link. It gives you an opportunity to convince your target audience that what they are searching for can be found on your website, minimizing the need to continue scrolling through all results pages.

How to Write a Good Meta Description

The best way to write a good meta-description is by planning out what you want your final copy to say before writing anything down. It may seem like extra work, but it’ll save you the time and frustration of rewriting repeatedly as you tweak small bits of the copy. 

  • KEEP IT BRIEF AND TO THE POINT – For the sake of getting your message across, the length should be just enough – not too long and not too short. Ideally, 120 – 155 characters are adequate.
  • USE THE ACTIVE VOICE – Describe your page in such a way that people know what to expect. Do not use dull, difficult wording or too much detail. The description should be engaging so that people want to explore your page and it should also have a call-to-action.
  • INCLUDE KEYWORDS – Google is more likely to display your site if your meta description matches the keywords being searched. This will make your site’s link stand out and be even more attractive for potential visitors as it will likely be ranked higher in the results.
  • ENSURE IT MATCHES YOUR KEYWORDS – Your meta description should match the content of your web page. If it doesn’t Google will penalize you as it will consider the description as a trick to lure viewers into your website. Consequently, this will make people less likely to trust your business.

What about Meta-titles?

Meta titles are important for website optimization. They’re different from the headline on the page itself, and they act as a name tag for that web page to tell you what website you’re browsing through your browser tab.
Search engine robots also read the title so it’s important to use strong keywords in order to rank well with Google searches when people use them online. However, it should still make sense since humans browsing the web will see it too.
It’s advisable to keep the meta title length at 50-60 characters, otherwise, it may get shortened and end up being less beneficial as people are typing.

You should also pay attention to how your meta titles appear on mobile devices because the snippet space can be reduced. Since more people are using their mobile devices rather than desktops to search the internet, you should check for this with every meta title.

The Bottom Line

It is important to learn how to write a good meta description because it will result in more people seeing your page in search results and clicking on the link to your site. The higher the click-through rate the more traffic for you.