what is meta description?

To improve the content which enhances the value of a webpage, its just not about the copy on the page. There are also hidden HTML attributes and metadata ads that lie at the back end of a web page, to prompt important information from both the user and search engine perspective.

Another significant element of text snippets are SEO meta descriptions.

What is SEO Meta Descriptions?

Advertisements appear on the webpage that describe in brief the information on the webpage.

The content shows up as meta tag in the webpage’s HTML code.

The content from the SEO meta information shows up in the search engine results pages (SERPs). The ads are a part of the bigger fragment which consists of

1) Title Tag:

A version of the page title that is added to the HTML. (This page title can be different from the headline that appears on the page.)

2) Slug: The URL for the page.

Also the replica shows up in other areas of the webpage. The title tag which shows up in a web browser tab & title tag and meta information are usually displayed on social media posts which appear on the page.

Why Should You Use SEO Meta Descriptions?

Google doesn’t consider rank based on the meta information , in fact the content plays a significant role to enhance the page’s visibility on search results and generate more traffic.

1. Descriptions are like mini ads for a web page.

While SEO meta description or information shows up on the search engine’s results page as well as the social media results, they appear as small ads on the webpage. It instructs the readers as why should they access it, also the copy delivers vendors some space to advertise the page.

2. Defined meta descriptions look better in search results.

When no instruction are given to the search engines & social podiums as which page information has to be used, they determine on their own. Which ends up in a unimpressive look on the page as the text is distorted and some parts of the text could be missing some important information and pages pop up randomly without any relevancy. Hence describing the information which you want to use is the best approach to show up consistency in the content.

3. Strategic meta descriptions increase click-through rates.

When properly optimized for audiences, meta descriptions receive more clicks. More users choose the result because they can clearly see that it offers what they need.

4. Higher click-through rates increase search rankings.

While SEO meta description doesn’t impact the page’s search rankings by itself, a well formulated meta description can significantly affect the page’s rankings.

When a link is often clicked in search results, it prompts the search engines that pages are significant which the users would like to access which considerably enhances the page’s ranking via the search results.

5. Meta descriptions can be a part of a larger rich snippet plan.

Search engine results are not confined to show the title and information. Multiple tags are available that benefit the rich snippets to search engine outcome. Enhancing rich snippets is a good practise to boost the page’s performance.

How to Create and Optimize SEO Meta Descriptions

Let’s analyse the strategies which work out well to build rich snippets & look at some meta information examples to implement these strategies to achieve the result.

Compose meta description across all web pages and landing pages which you produce. If you haven’t implemented this idea and have several pages begin and categorise with the most crucial pages.

The best way to build text fragments for WordPress is to implement the Yoast SEO for WordPress Plugin. After you fix and trigger the plugin, you can use the feature box which grants you to add a custom title tag, slug, and meta description.

Avoid using duplicate SEO meta descriptions. The meta description and page title you build must be distinct. Avoid repetition using the same words and language for multiple rich snippets.

To figure out if you identical SEO meta descriptions, use Alexa’s SEO Audit Tool. Enter your site and run the complete site audit.

Scroll below to the area “identical Meta Descriptions” to get the right count of know how many pages have duplicate content issues.

Include words in the range of 135 and 160 characters. The length of meta descriptions which appears in the search results page differs depending on the screen size, device type & other technical factors, so there’s no ideal rule for lengthy SEO meta descriptions must be. To make sure it fits in the most used range of length, write information in between 135 to 160 characters.

Incorporate the targeted keywords across all pages. All web pages must have the targeted keywords induced in pages which are targeted for better ranking. Invest quality time to do some keyword research to know the best keywords which must be used in the SEO meta description.

The results in the search engines are visibly noticeable provided they are inline with the user’s search pattern of words and phrases.

Upon inducing the keywords in the description which users look for, it makes it easier to fetch results.

Avoid using quotation marks, since SEO meta descriptions are included in the HTML, avoid usage of characters that divide the HTML language. Most common issue is the usage of a double quotation mark as they arise issues in meta descriptions, hence they are to be avoided, if needed rather use a single quotation mark.

Incorporate the usage of value propositions which permits users a logic to click on the link by justifying the advantages you get by visiting the page. Highlight the value they will get, the things they will learn, and issues that will be resolved.

Always use the active voice, as passive language makes it sound dull and boring. Using active language, makes it easy to understand and visualize. Hence writing content which uses active voice as much as possible. Use active voice to write meta information or descriptions to help users stay engaged and get the deserved attention.

Include a call to action button to direct the next move. The meta description acts as a direction for the user, to proceed to the next step.

Don’t indulge in mislead the audience, use your meta tag information to attract readers and inspire them to click to read, but you might do it the right way.

Dont indulge in use inappropriate language, or irrelevant information copy to promote your content or deviate attention. Using inappropriate language can severely impact the SEO ranking.

If the content is not inline with the page’s meta information, search engines take it seriously and you might be charged penalty for the misuse., additionally it could also result in high bounce rates on the user's landing up on the page and prompt negative impact to search engines by indicating the page is not worthy.

Strengthen meta descriptions with the usage of strong page titles, Like how meta descriptions have impact on SEO, the meta title tags also affect the SEO rankings. Hence SEO content plays a significant role in attracting the user’s attention. Hence support your meta descriptions, make use of strong meta page title:

1. Avoid using too many keywords.
2. Place the keyword close to the  title.
3. Focus on users rather than just search engines.
4. Show benefits and value.
5. Include your brand name when relevant.
6. Write 50 to 60 characters.
7. Write distinct page titles for all pages.

In meta descriptions, don’t use identical title tags across any pages. To get help with tracking the existing pages on your site which has title tag issues, use the Alexa Site Audit Tool.

Don’t stress about meta keywords. Like a meta title and description, meta keywords are terms that are tagged and placed in a page’s HTML. But unlike titles and descriptions, meta keywords have trivial effect on the page’s value for search engines or users. While most of the search engines have openly revealed these underlying elements do not affect the search engine ranking . meta tag keywords are not detectable to the users.

Use various kinds of affluent snippets on social media like Facebook and Twitter. Social media platforms typically use a page’s defined meta description to advertise their posts. Using Yoast SEO plugin, you can change the information that shows up on the page shared via social media.

Optimize for other rich snippets when you can. If other schema markups are relevant to the content on your page, add structured data to your page to improve the look of your search engine results listings. This is useful if your page features reviews, recipes, products, event information, and videos.

After adding the metadata to your posts to optimize it for the search engine perspective, ensure you implement all the best practices. Use Alexa’s On-Page SEO Checker to scan your page. The report makes a note of all the issues which occur on a page relevant to on-site SEO.

It’s Time to Review and Improve Your SEO Meta Descriptions