What is a meta description, and how does it impact SEO? 

A meta description is the short blurb that appears below a page’s title in search engine results pages (SERPs). The best meta descriptions are concise and persuasive. They give readers enough information to understand if the page is relevant to their query, but not so much that they aren’t interested in clicking through to the landing page. Contact us to learn more about tempe seo

How does SEO impact the meta description?

In short, a good meta description makes it easier for users to click through to your page from search results. This improves the click-through rate for that page and, in turn, increases your total organic traffic. 

How do I write a meta description?

The first step to writing a great meta description is to think about what your page or post is about. Are you educating your audience on a certain topic or selling them something? You want to make sure that you are focusing on the right keywords and phrases for the specific page or post. 

Next, look at your competition. Check out their keyword targeting strategies and see how they use meta descriptions to drive traffic and increase sales. 

Doing your homework on your competition will help you create a strategy that’s right for your business. This will also help you determine the right length and language for your meta descriptions. 

Optimum Length.

Google has an official minimum and maximum character limit for meta descriptions, but you can usually get away with a snippet of 120 to 158 characters. Anything longer will be truncated in the SERPs, so it’s best to stick with this number. 

Your meta description should be able to describe the content of the page in an effective way, and it should be unique and relevant for each individual page. Duplicate meta descriptions are a big no-no, as they will stifle your ability to differentiate yourself from the competition and use call-to-action buttons. 

Use a variety of keywords and phrases within your meta descriptions. This will show search engines that you are targeting a range of related terms, and it will also help to boost your page’s relevance for those keywords. 

The meta description should be as close to the page’s title as possible. The title is used to rank pages, so it’s important that the meta description describes the page accurately and in a way that will convince people to click through to the page. 

You can use the text from your meta descriptions in Google Ads, which can lead to better click-through rates. This is a key factor in Google’s Quality Score, which influences where your ads appear on the search results page. 

Refresh Old Content.

Sometimes you’ll notice that your meta descriptions for older pages aren’t as effective as they could be. This can be because the content is stale and doesn’t appeal to newer visitors. This is why it’s important to refresh older pages with fresh, dynamic meta descriptions. 

This will also bolster the search engine’s perception that your website is still relevant, which can have an indirect impact on how it ranks you for your site’s relevant search queries. It’s best to use your targeted keywords or key phrases as your starting point for meta descriptions, but if you need to add more words or synonyms, you can always do so in the body of the description.