Generally, a meta description is a web page’s meta tags. Here text may appear in the search engine results under the title. With the meta description, webmasters can filter out the content and quality of a web page.
In other words, it is a snippet, that summarizes a webpage’s content. We can say it is an essential component of on-page SEO, so you need to know its optimization best practices.
HTML format:
<meta name=”description” content=”A page’s description, one or two sentences.”/>
Length
Google has recently expanded the length of meta descriptions. Previously, its length was meant to be 160 characters or less. But now Google has shown up to 275 characters on the SERP.
Why it is important?
Talking about the main purpose, to get the visitors from SERPs and social media to click the link to your page. So, if the meta description is written well, it improves CTR (click-through rate) from the search engine result pages.
According to Google, this doesn’t lead to direct page rank benefits, but there is definitely a hidden benefit since Google uses CTR to determine page rank in search results. You should make sure that your content matches the mind of the reader, as readers will click the content that answers their query.
Best Practices When Writing Meta Descriptions
- Length shouldn’t more than 160 characters.
- Use action-oriented language.
- Put that keyword and make it specific and relevant
- Don’t deceive searchers.
If you follow this practice, then meta descriptions become more than simply another important ranking factor for your page. It enables clicking your web page. Yes definitely- high CTR.
What to Avoid When Writing HTML Meta Descriptions
- Do not stuff keywords. If you repeat keyword 9 times, it will get you penalized.
- Don’t copy a large block of content from the page. Take the time to write unique copy to give your user and search engines a page description.
- Do not use the same description on more than one post. This will confuse the search engine. If you want, you can run a site audit to check duplicate content.
Examples of Good Meta Descriptions
- Uber
- Youtube
Conclusion
Though meta description is small but is a great factor for SEO optimization. So, it’s your time to beat all of your competitors. Usually, many businesses ignore this and miss out on this chance to improve CTR. Make sure to create an engaging meta description that persuades readers to choose you. SEO is all about creating positive search experiences for searchers rather than chasing the algorithm.