We at AZ Citation Services think that a powerful meta description can make or break an SEO strategy. That is why we are here to talk about the importance of meta descriptions for SEO. What are meta descriptions, and how to write one that will increase engagement to your page, blog, or business site?
What are meta descriptions?
If you have ever looked for something on the internet, you have probably encountered a meta description. The text that is under an URL or a page name is the meta description. It summarizes the website you might decide to visit, and it is an HTML attribute. If you have a compelling meta description, it can drive many people to your page, and it is the present and future of SEO.
How long should your meta description be
Now that we know what a meta description represents. Let’s move on to how to write an inviting meta description. The first thing you have to know about writing a meta description is the length of it. Why is the length of the meta description meaningful?
The length of the meta description is significant because Google will not show your full description if it is above 160 characters, and the user won’t see what you wrote. And this will lower your click-through rate. Aim to write 120 to 160 character meta descriptions. If you keep in this range, you will have two benefits. The first benefit is that you will have enough character to explain what your page or blog is about without losing meaning. The second benefit is that Google will display your full meta description on the search page.
If you want to feel the importance of meta descriptions for SEO, learn how to write them
Writing a meta description is not hard, but you have to engage the users with two short sentences and entice them to visit your page. So your job is two get the user on your side with two sentences, and to do that, you will have to use emotions for your benefit. Emotions are the easiest way to get customers on your side, so when you are writing a meta description, try and create a feeling of comfort and trust. The emotional side of the meta description should be the second sentence.
When writing the meta description, do not use the passive voice. Use the active voice because it is more engaging and easier to understand. We have covered the emotional aspect of the meta description. Let’s talk about the selling part.
You should know that the meta description and the keyword in the meta description won’t affect your SERP ranking. However, what affects the SERP ranking is the click-through rate (CTR), and the main force that increases CTR is the meta description. That is why you need to be clear, and the first sentence should always talk about what your page or blog is offering to the user. Finally, if you want to improve your meta descriptions, you have to understand searches better.
Do not duplicate the meta description
When you search for something on Google, three things come out about a web page. The first thing you will see in the search result is the URL of the page, the second thing will be the title, and the final is the meta description. However, if we compare each of the three parts, we will notice that the meta description has the most ‘real estate. The meta description is two sentences long. And you need to use those two sentences wisely.
Now let’s see how will duplicate meta descriptions affect us. If you have the same meta description, there will be nothing to differentiate your content. And if you were to measure SEO performance, you will find that the click-through rate is going down. The click-through rate will go down because nothing is engaging users to click on your page and vlog. Because the click-through rate is down, your SERP ranking will get lower, making you lose out on even more customers.
The Importance of Meta Descriptions for SEO
Now let’s see how meta descriptions affect SEO. We have mentioned it in our article. However, we are going to dive a bit closer now.
As we have mentioned before, the meta description does not affect SEO. It does not boost your chances of reaching the first page of Google search. Let’s see why. At first, meta descriptions had a significant effect on SEO, but people abused the system. They put as many tags as they could in the meta description to boost their chances of getting on the first page. However, Google put a stop to this in 2009 when they declared that meta description does not affect SEO.
But not everything went as Google had planned, and meta descriptions affect SEO indirectly through click-thorough rate. Let us explain how. You see, CRT affects SEO, and the main drive in increasing CRT is the meta description.
CRT represents the number of people that have seen your search result and clicked on it after. The formula for determining click-through rate is – clicks/the number of people that have seen the result (impressions)*100. So if ten people have clicked and hundred people have seen, the CRT will be 10/100*100, which is ten percent. And remember, what gets people to visit your page is the meta description.
Conclusion
As we have seen, the importance of meta descriptions for SEO lies in its power to increase the click-through rate. And to increase the click-through rate, our mate descriptions have to be inviting and engaging to the user. Increasing CTR is simply down if we follow the before mentioned guidelines for writing a successful meta description. Finally, if you want to get even better at writing meta descriptions, learn how people use google search.
