Your keyword strategies and SEO tactics have landed your website on page 1 of a search engine result page (SERP), but now, you need to convince people, searchers, to click the link to your website versus another link. A well written meta description about the content on your website can help you stand out from other websites on a SERP page.

Is the likelihood of your competitor landing on the same SERP page as you high?

If yes, you can use Meta Descriptions to persuade searchers and make your website seem more appealing than your competitors.

What is a Meta Description?

The text below a webpage link on a SERP is a meta description about the content on the webpage. The meta description can lure searchers to click through to your website instead of another website.

Think of a Meta Description as a short sales pitch for your webpage.  This is an opportunity to engage searchers before they get to your website.

An Example of How Meta Descriptions Appear on a Google Search Engine Result Page:

Personally, when I complete a web search, I always read the meta descriptions to find out which website can meet my informational needs. Reading the meta descriptions can be a time saver, so I try to find the meta description for the best website to satisfy my search query. If I personally use meta descriptions to find the best website to click through to, I wonder how many other searchers might read meta descriptions as well.

A snapshot of the HTML Code to Help You Set Up Your Meta Tag Descriptions:

How to Write Meta Descriptions that Standout?

1. Use Action-Oriented Language – use action words to tell readers what they will see if they click.
2. Include a Solution or Benefit – give a convincing preview of how your content will satisfy the searchers needs.
3. Length should be under 150 characters – the date when the content was posted could be included in the meta description, so you want to convince searchers to click through to your website in 130 characters or less. Best to be on the safe side.
4. Be Honest – make sure your content on your webpage can deliver what your meta descriptions says it will deliver. This is your chance for searchers to build trust in your website. Don’t waste this chance.
5. Be Relevant and Specific with Descriptive Words
6. Meta Description should Accurately Describe the Content on Your Webpage, so expectations are met, and bounce rates are decreased.

Avoid these Meta Description Pitfalls

• No Meta Description – Google will use text from somewhere on the page that matches the searchers’ query, and this text may not convince users to click through to your website.
• Keyword Stuffing – Only using keywords may not properly describe the content on your webpage, and you do not want to mislead searchers and risk them never clicking through to your website in the future.
• Bounce Rate – To avoid searchers from clicking the back button when they click through to your site, make sure the sales pitch in your meta description will be fulfilled by the content on your webpage.  Be aware that a high bounce rate may hinder your SEO and reduce your ranking.

Finally, don’t you hate it when Wikipedia outranks you on your keywords?

Use your Meta Descriptions to stand out and lure searchers to click through to your website instead of clicking to Wikipedia.

Have fun creating Meta Descriptions for your website and come back to learn more SEO tips and tools to help drive traffic to your websites from search engines and reach your digital marketing objectives.

Sources

• Hubspot’s Blog How to Write an Effective Description (Yes, They Still Matter)
• About the Google SERP Snippet Optimization Tool from SEO Mofo
• Hubspot’s Blog 3 Meta Description Mistakes You Might be Making

Additional SEO News and Resources

• Search Engine Land’s Search Cap: The Day in Search, February 17, 2014
• Google: Here’s How to Make Infinite Scrolling Websites Search-Friendly from Search Engine Watch
• Google Unnatural Links Manual Penalty: A Recovery Guide from Search Engine Watch
• The Beginner’s Guide to SEO from Moz.com