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8 best practices for meta descriptions
Meta descriptions are a short and concise summary of what your website or web page is about. They appear in search engine results pages and provide website visitors with a quick overview of what they can expect to find on the website.
January 25, 2023
Most website owners know that a well-written meta description can be helpful in improving their website’s search engine ranking. However, many people don’t know how to write compelling and accurate meta descriptions.
In this article, we will provide you with 8 tips for writing meta descriptions that will help your website rank higher in the search engine results pages.
What are meta descriptions?
Meta descriptions are a short and concise summary of what your website or web page is about. They appear in search engine results pages and provide website visitors with a quick overview of what they can expect to find on your website. They also help determine whether potential website visitors will click through to your website from the search engine results page.
1. Include a CTA in your meta descriptions
A call to action (CTA) is a statement that encourages website visitors to take action. Include CTAs in your meta descriptions to encourage website visitors to click and explore your website further.
2. Focus on the value of your meta description
Focus on the value that website visitors will gain by clicking on your website. Your meta description should be clear and concise, but also compelling enough to encourage website visitors to click on it.
3. Experiment with character length
The character length of meta descriptions varies between different search engines, so it’s important to experiment with different lengths and see what works best for your website. Keep in mind that a meta description should be about 160 characters long, including spaces, and include a concise but compelling description of the content on that page.
4. Make your meta descriptions unique and interesting
Make sure your meta descriptions are unique, interesting and stand out from the competition. You want website visitors to be drawn in by what you say and click to explore further.
5. Include keywords in your meta descriptions
Including keywords in your meta descriptions can help website visitors find your website more easily on search engine results pages. Keywords are also important for SEO purposes, as they tell search engines what your website is about and what terms it should be ranked for.
6. Implement structured data
Structured data is a markup language that can help website owners provide search engines with more information about their website. Structured data is not visible to website visitors, but it can be useful in improving the website’s ranking on search engine results pages.
7. Do not duplicate meta descriptions
Make sure your website contains unique and original meta descriptions for each page. Duplicate meta descriptions can confuse website visitors, as well as search engines, so it’s important to make sure all your meta descriptions are unique.
8. A/B test your meta descriptions
A/B testing is the process of comparing two website elements to see which one works best. You can use A/B testing to compare different meta descriptions and see which ones are most effective in encouraging website visitors to click through to search engine results pages.
Having well-written meta descriptions can be helpful in improving your website’s ranking on search engine results pages. By following the tips described above, website owners will be able to write compelling meta descriptions that will help their websites rank higher and attract more visitors.
In addition, website owners can use tools such as meta description generators and sample website descriptions to help them create effective meta descriptions.
Don’t hesitate to contact a qualified SEO agency if you have any questions or need help with your copywriting.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Determined, ambitious and passionate, Laurie-Anne Nault has already acquired several years of experience in administration and customer service. She joins the Turko Marketing team in October 2021 to fill the role of Administration and Social Media Manager.