How To Write Meta Descriptions For Google
The correlation between optimized Meta descriptions and search rankings is debatable, but what’s clear is that well-written and enticing descriptions are resourceful in luring traffic. Whereas you should compose page titles with both search engines and potential visitors in mind, Meta descriptions should ultimately be prepared to entice users and increase your click-thru rates, which in turn means more visitors to your website.
Here are easy tips for writing Meta descriptions:
1. Write with flair and honesty
Sure your primary goal is to write something that will compel people to click thru to your website; however, your reputation (and perhaps your rankings!) will suffer drastically if your content isn’t as great as advertised. Thus, your description should be an honest depiction of what users can expect to find on that particular page. If your content truly lives up to the tantalizing description you labored over for hours, then great. Otherwise, consider tempering your description or enlivening your content.
2. Adhere to character limits
Each search engine allows for a specific number of characters (including spaces) to be shown beneath your page title in search results. Typically, Google gives you up to 160 characters, Yahoo! up to 165, and MSN upwards of 200. There isn’t necessarily a downfall for running long (it will cut it off with an ellipse…) but preparing your description within the given constraints means you have more authority over what appears. As you cannot compose a unique description for each search engine, aim for one that is succinct and 160 characters or less.
3. Keywords Keywords Keywords
Implementing keywords into your Meta description tells your targeted audience your site is the real deal. Users searching for particular words will naturally first examine page titles, but if they still cannot determine which site best addresses their needs, they then turn to the most relevant page descriptions. By placing 1-3 keywords into your description (which appear in bold), you’re assuring search users that your site isn’t appearing in their results by mistake or chance, but because it boasts content containing elements they are searching for.
4. What happens if you don’t write Meta descriptions?
It might seem peculiar for an article offering tips about writing Meta descriptions to suggest that you don’t always have to create a Meta description, but in certain instances it’s an alternative option. In my opinion, you should always write them when a particular page is optimized around 2 or 3 very specific keywords. However, by doing this, you could be limiting your potential of attracting visitors who might be interested in other content within your page, article, or blog post.
If you think a given page might receive greater traffic by allowing Google or another search engine to extract a Meta description from your content, you can skip writing the tag all together. Individual keywords will be bolded just the same, so any risk of missing out on users searching for them is neutralized.
