Every business needs a website. To maximize your online footprint, you need to optimise your website so that you’ll not only show up in search engine results but also rank well.
That’s where copywriting comes in. By crafting the right text centered around your keyword, you can improve your search rankings. Meta descriptions – the 160-character snippet which summarizes the content of your webpage – are an important element of SEO copywriting.
Meta descriptions persuade your customers to visit your website. We’ve covered the importance of meta descriptions in our previous blog post. Now, we’ll focus on how to write effective meta descriptions.
6 tips on writing meta descriptions that will get you more clicks
1. Keep meta descriptions under 155 – 160 characters
Google generally limits your meta description by pixel width. This roughly translates to a cap of 155 – 160 characters on your meta description. Aim to write a meta description that does not exceed 160 characters. Otherwise, you’ll find your snippet truncated with ellipses.
2. The meta description should contain the focus keyword
If you are optimising your website for a specific keyword, you should include that in your meta description. If a user searches for a particular keyword phrase (longtail keyword) and that forms part of the text in your meta description, it will appear in bold in Google’s search results. This will attract the user’s attention. Include your keyword near the beginning of the sentence. This not only emphasizes that your webpage content is related to the topic, but it also reduces the chance that your keyword will be cut off due to the character limit.
3. The meta description should be relevant to the content of the webpage
Let your audience know exactly what they’ll find by visiting your website. Write descriptively, but also concisely. Meta descriptions should match the content of your website. Do not try to trick your audience into clicking through to your website by writing something that is totally unrelated to your content. You may find yourself unnecessarily penalized by Google.
4. Your meta description should be unique
Each webpage should have its own unique meta description. Avoid having the same meta description across your entire website. If it’s not necessary to have a meta description for each webpage, then leave the meta description blank so that Google can automatically generate a snippet from your webpage. What’s important is that you should have meta descriptions for your most important revenue-generating or “money-making” webpages, such as the home page or product-specific pages.
5. Include a call-to-action in your meta description
Make your meta description work for you. Add a call-to-action and use the active voice. Include phrases such as “Find out more”, “Discover”, “Learn more about” or “Get your offer today” at the end of your meta description to encourage visitors to click through to your website.
6. Showcase your value proposition in the meta description
Your meta description should include a solution or benefit. Tell the searcher why they should visit your website – focus on what benefit, value or solution they will get. What makes your product or service special and how will it solve their problem – keep this in mind when you articulate your sentence.