How to Write Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions. If you work in marketing, you’ll have heard of them before. Depending on the department you’re in, you might know what they are and how to write them, but if you’re new to the game or are simply curious, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll be explaining what meta descriptions are, why they’re important and how you can write on effectively for optimum SEO benefit.

What is a meta description?

A meta description is a snippet of information that you see when you use a search engine to pull up content results, before you click on the main body of content. Think of it as a short preview of the main article or website page. More technically, a meta description is an HTML tag that is set for a blog post or a website page on your website. 

Essentially, it lets both the search engine and internet users know what the content is about and how valuable it is (depending on how well it’s written) without looking at the content in its entirety. But why should you bother with them? Let’s see why they’re important in the world of content marketing.

Why are meta descriptions important?

It’s important to include a meta description for your content because it aids in making sure that those who are searching for relevant keywords can find your content and click on it. It generates something called ‘click-throughs’ from search engines. While search engines have specifically said that meta descriptions hold no SEO weighting, there are some indirect benefits to be had by making sure that you’re writing a meta description for your content, including:

• Click-through rates are important to Google because they determine whether the content you’ve produced is a good search result. The higher the click-through rate, the more valuable Google will view that content, pushing it higher up in the search results
• The more people click on your content, even if the bounce rate is high, the more likely it is that Google will consider your content a good search result, therefore ensuring it performs impressively in the search engine results
• It adds some context to your content before someone clicks on it, therefore helping to establish trust before someone has even clicked on the content on the search engine results page
• Meta descriptions are something that can be the difference between a reader clicking on your content or that of your competitors. If you have a solid meta description attached to your content, and your competitors haven’t bothered, then internet users are more likely to click on your content over theirs

How to write a good meta description

Writing a meta description is far easier than you might think, especially considering the importance of a meta description. But how can you write the perfect meta description for your content before putting it live? Here are a few of our tips for writing a good meta description that will help to set your content apart in the search engines.

Keep it to 155 characters

There is no such thing as the “right length”. It all depends on the message you’re wanting to push to your readers. While a meta description could be longer than 155 characters, it’s recommended that you stick to that to get the best SEO results. This means that you’ll have to think carefully about the message and then think about how you can contract that down to just 155 characters. It can be done, so put your microcopy skills to work. 

Make it actionable

Essentially, a meta description should contain a Call to Action (CTA). You want the readers to do something that benefits you. When writing a meta description, it’s common to include lines at the end like “take a look at our article” or “read on to find out”, for instance. You want your readers to actually do something, and not just read the meta description and move on to the next article or website they find in the search engine. 

Use a focus keyword

Often, a focus keyword is used to write a meta description. This focus keyword should be relevant to the main body of content. Once you have identified that focus keyword, you should make sure to include it, in some way, in your meta description. This will aid in the SEO results, which is paramount, because this is what helps to expose your content to the internet users, potentially around the world.

Ensure it matches the content of the page or article

Your meta description needs to relate entirely to the main body of content. While it shouldn’t be a direct excerpt from your article or website page, it needs to be heavily similar so that the search engine algorithm can make a connection between the meta description and the content that goes with it. This helps to keep your content higher up in the search engine results because if it is not, it could be flagged as spam or clickbait, and your content will then be pushed further down in the search engines.

Uniqueness & originality are key

Make sure your meta description is unique and original. You should also refrain from using AI to write your meta descriptions. Write your meta descriptions yourself and think carefully about the words you’re going to use. It’s alright, if you need some inspiration, to look at other related meta descriptions online, just ensure you aren’t plagiarising

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