If you’re a copywriter, meta descriptions are essential to your arsenal. They provide the opportunity to create concise and compelling summaries that can increase click-through rates on search engine results pages.
As AI tools become more advanced, copywriters must understand how to craft compelling meta descriptions to ensure their content stands out. In this article, we will explore what meta descriptions are, why they are essential, and provide tips for writing effective ones and optimizing them using AI tools.
What Are Meta Descriptions?
A meta description is an HTML tag that summarizes a web page’s content and influences how users perceive your website. Brief meta descriptions ensure they stay trimmed when shown in SERPs. Therefore, keeping compelling meta descriptions short and descriptive while aiming for around 150- 160 characters is essential.
A meta description is typically displayed in search engine results pages (SERPs) and should include relevant keywords that describe the page’s content. Meta descriptions should be engaging, informative, and contain actionable language such as “learn more” or “find out now.” It should also be written to encourage users to click through to your website.
Why Are Meta Descriptions Important?
A strong sales pitch is similar to a powerful meta description. It rapidly communicates your value offer to readers and encourages them to click your link to buy in.
You want to increase your page’s click-through rate (CTR) by using fascinating meta descriptions that entice users to click because more clicks translate into more people seeing your page.
Meta descriptions do not directly affect SEO ranking as they do not include the meta description in their ranking factors. But promoting a higher organic CTR for particular keywords can indirectly affect rankings.
It is why optimizing both your titles and your meta description is crucial. Meta descriptions can accomplish the following:
- Increase CTR
- Make your SERP result stand out from the competition.
- Support for brand visibility
Meta descriptions are a crucial part of SEO and web marketing, so understanding how to write compelling meta descriptions is vital for any copywriter.
How to Write a Good Meta description
The following is a list of the components that make a strong meta description:
- 160 Character Limit
There is no ideal length. Keep it brief and quick, but allow enough room for the point to be understood. Most of the search results in Google are snippets between 120 and 156 characters extended. Your meta descriptions can be as long as you like, but Google will terminate them after 160 characters on desktop and 120 on mobile.
- Use of Target Keyword
Meta descriptions do not directly impact rankings. However, they can persuade users to click. Your meta description should ideally contain your target keyword.
For instance, Google will be more likely to use and emphasize the search keyword if it coincides with a portion of the meta description content. And if the user’s search intent matches those keywords. It will further enhance the appeal of the connection to your website.
Google will occasionally highlight synonyms. Utilizing your target keyword is advantageous because Google will highlight pertinent terms and their synonyms from the search query in the meta description.
- Use Active Voice
The purpose of meta descriptions is to entice users to your page. Active speaking can assist with that. Here is an illustration of the active and passive voice:
Active voice – Dorcas washed the plate
Passive voice: The dishes were washed by Dorcas
The subject (Dorcas) performs the action that the verb expresses in the active voice, which is more direct (washing).
Action is motivated by an active voice. For example, active voice can help you save text while clarifying to users what they will see if they click on your page. Any call to action must lead to measure, after all.
Consider words like:
- Study more
- free trial
- Discover more
- View our services.
- Add a call to action.
“Hello, do you want this new product that we have? Discover more! It is similar to what we said earlier regarding the active voice, but we wanted to reiterate it. The sales text is the meta description. However, the “product” you are attempting to sell in this instance is the linked website. We also use invitations with phrases like Learn more, Get it now, and Try it for free.
- Uniqueness Is Key
Having the same meta description on different pages will negatively impact Google’s user experience. Your page titles may differ, but because all the definitions are the same, all the pages will appear the same. You should leave the meta descriptions blank than duplicate them. Google will choose a snippet from the page that contains the query’s keyword. The ideal strategy is creating a distinctive meta description for each page you wish to rank.
- Make sure it corresponds to the page’s content.
The meta description should correspond to the page content. If you use meta descriptions to deceive users into clicking on your site, Google will find out. Our bounce rate will go up if you use false tales. It will erode consumer trust.
- Show details whenever possible.
Concentrating on the technical details can be a good idea if a product in your Shopify or WooCommerce business is geared toward the tech-savvy customer. You may provide the price, SKU, and manufacturer. You won’t need to persuade a visitor explicitly to look for that product. Can the watch aid in our fitness? That’s all we need to know—sign us up. Be aware that you should work on obtaining rich snippets to maximize your result in this way.
Meta Description Examples
Home page
The procedure will appear deceptively simple when reading other people’s meta descriptions, but that simplicity makes writing challenging. The meta description isn’t allowed to be a maximum of a tweet because of the approximate 155-character limit.
An adequate home page description gives you a concise summary of the website’s content and an incentive to click the title tag. Many people searching won’t even realize they are making a selection because it all happens swiftly and smoothly. They won’t have to think about it; they’ll click the link, quelling their curiosity.
Example: “Start your day with a bold kick of flavor and high caffeine content. Try Rash Coffee, the perfect blend for an energizing morning routine. Order now!”
Product Page
Since your product pages aren’t meant to represent your company as a whole, creating meta descriptions for them is a little simpler than making them for your homepage.
Instead, they are advocating for something that directly benefits consumers:
- Do you sell mixing machines? Tell the reader how much easier baking will be with this mixing machine.
Example: “Say goodbye to sore arms and kneading dough with our Mixing Machine. Whip up the perfect batter, bread dough, and more with ease. Enjoy stress-free baking!”
Category Pages
Pay attention to your category page’s meta description next. This page’s objective is to compile comparable products for customers to view. For broad, popular keywords like “woman’s shoes” or “men’s sandals,” collections sites may appear.
As DSW does in their category for women’s shoes, you should use relevant information about the collection in your category page meta description to pique interest. They also employ straightforward action verbs to entice browser clicks, like “Shop online for…” and “enjoy a huge assortment and free shipping…”
Doug Pierce, Director of Hong Kong-based marketing firm Cogney, advises employing emojis to clarify your description. “If it’s a product collection page, I like to use check marks to flag out the sub-collections of products we offer.”
Additionally, he advises utilizing figures in the description (where appropriate) and attention-grabbing phrases like “free” or “exclusive” to draw readers in. Fit Small Business’ Katie-Jay Simmons, an e-commerce expert, concurs. For example, suppose your shop runs any promotions, such as free shipping, extended warranties, or bargains. She advises that “putting in a category page meta description can make great content.
Examples: “Discover our wide selection of premium quality products in [category name]. We’ve covered you from [product feature] to [product feature]. Shop now and elevate your [related activity] game!”
What is the difference between Description and Meta description?
A meta description is a summary of the content on a web page. Search engines typically use it to display their results pages and give users an overview of what they can expect when they click through to the website. Unlike descriptions, which are usually written for humans, meta descriptions are written specifically for search engine crawlers so that they can better understand the page’s content and rank it accordingly. Meta descriptions should be concise yet informative enough to attract readers and encourage them to click through from the search engine results page.
Following the tips outlined in this article, you can create compelling meta descriptions to draw more visitors to your website. Effective meta-descriptions require research, creativity, and a keen eye for detail. Remember: with great power comes great responsibility – use meta descriptions wisely and ensure they accurately reflect what’s on your page.
