Meta Descriptions contribute to your search rankings. That’s why knowing how to craft an effective meta description is crucial to your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. But how do you create an effective one line with limited characters? First, let’s get to know what meta descriptions are and why they are important.
What Are Meta Descriptions?
Your meta description is typically the section below your page title on the search engine that shows what your page is about. It gives you the opportunity to convince search engine users that your page has what they are looking for.
This is what your meta description will look like on search engines:
And this is what the HTML code would look like:
<meta name=”description” content=”BINARY IDEAS LOCAL MARKETING specializes in strategic local marketing practices. Our mission is simple: we want our clients to succeed in the business.”/>
Why Should You Set Your Meta Description?
It tells the user why they should be clicking your link instead of others. They are there to generate click-throughs from search engines.
Although search engines may say that there is no direct SEO benefit from meta descriptions as they are not a factor in the ranking algorithm, the benefit is that Google uses click-through rate (CTR) as a way of working out whether you are a relevant result to the user. Should more people click on your link, Google will consider you as a relevant and reliable source, thus, increasing your ranking on search engines.
That’s why you need to optimize your meta descriptions.
How You Can Create a Good Meta Description
- Make Sure Your Meta Description Has the Right Length
Typically, search engines like Google show 120 characters on mobile and 156 characters on desktop. So instead of going beyond these characters, make your meta descriptions for certain pages concise and clear. Write meta descriptions that would best describe your page, along with a call to action.
Consequently, avoid writing short meta descriptions for your page. If your meta descriptions are also too short, Google will see your descriptions as lacking in substance, and thus, also lacking in quality.
This will ultimately make your page lose its clickability and lower its rankings on search engines.
Thus, the ideal characters for writing meta descriptions would be 120-156 characters.
- Your Meta Description Must Accurately Reflect Your Page Content
When your meta description and web page do not align, this may affect your opportunities of getting more clicks.
Meta descriptions are meant to provide a short summary of what the page is all about. However, there are times when it is composed lazily or without any attention to detail, hence, misconstruing what users would expect on the page.
With this, not only will your meta description not be used by the search engine, it may not even be properly indexed or ranked.
- Use the Appropriate Keyword in Your Meta Description
Should the keyword you use match the search keyword, Google will be more inclined to use it and highlight it in the user’s search results. This will make the link to your website more inviting. That’s why make sure to research relevant keywords that are associated with the content on your webpage and use them on your meta description. When you have your results emphasized, this will make your web page on the search results stand out even more.
- Should Your Content Have Specifications, Show It Where It Is Possible
Implementing rich snippets to your web pages can be beneficial for getting more clicks. They add more information to search results, making your web page more enticing to your user because it shows how your website can be relevant to their search or how your product or service is trusted by numerous consumers. And of course, when you get more clicks, this will improve your ranking on the search engine results page.
- Meta Descriptions for Every Web Page Should Be Unique
Make sure that every page has a unique meta description. If not, might as well leave the meta description blank as Google will pick a snippet from the page containing the keyword used in the query. However, know that writing unique meta descriptions for every page you want to rank is the best practice in search engine optimization.
Do You Need Help in Improving Your Website’s Ranking on Search Engines?
Our professionals at Binary Ideas can help you. They are experts in the latest approaches to search engine optimization and can work with you in coming up with the appropriate strategy that will deliver exceptional results. When it comes to SEO marketing and your online marketing needs overall, work with a team that puts your satisfaction and your needs first.
Partner with Binary Ideas today! Contact us to know more about our services for digital marketing in Fairfax VA.
