How to optimise your meta descriptions for better Search Engine Rankings
If you’re in business, then you know how important it is to have a strong online presence. After all, nearly 80% of consumers say they use the internet to research products and services before making a purchase. And in the case of search engine results, your meta descriptions play a big role in whether or not potential customers will click through to your website. Learning how to optimise your Meta descriptions is vital.
Meta descriptions are the little pieces of text that appear beneath your website’s title and URL in the search engine results pages (SERPs). They give searchers an idea of what your website is about and can be a useful tool for driving traffic to your site.
Many businesses are unaware of the impact that these small pieces of text can have, and many simply don’t bother with their meta descriptions or don’t know how to optimise Meta descriptions for better results in search engine rankings. If this sounds familiar, then this blog post is here to help you learn how to optimise your Meta descriptions. Keep reading to learn how to write meta descriptions that will help improve your SERP click-through rates (CTRs) and boost your business’s bottom line.
Good Meta Description
Why Meta Descriptions Matter
As we mentioned, meta descriptions are the short pieces of text that appear beneath your website’s title and URL in search results. They give the people searching a better idea of what subject your website is about and can be a powerful tool for driving traffic to your site. In fact, CTRs have been shown to increase by up to 15% when a well-written meta description is used.
Moreover, writing a good meta description can help improve your SEO. That’s because they give you another opportunity to include relevant keywords and phrases that help search engines understand what your website is about. When used strategically, these keywords and phrases can help improve your website’s organic search rankings. Find out more about Keyword Research here.
SERPS results when no Meta Description has been completed.
How to optimise your Meta Descriptions
So, now that you know why meta descriptions matter, let’s discuss how you can write descriptions that will actually drive results for your business.
Here are some tips:
- Using Google Chrome type into the URL bar, site://yourwebsiteaddresshere and press enter to see a list of the pages that Google knows about on your website and view your Meta descriptions.
- Keep your meta descriptions short and sweet, They should start with a headline or sentence that grabs the eye and makes the reader want to find out more by clicking through to your website. Remember, you only have 160 characters (about two sentences) worth of visible space, so make the words you use count.
- When writing your Meta description, write it to benefit the reader. So instead of talking about the product or service focus on getting across to the reader the benefits of the product or service. Consider what makes your product or service valuable and why they should invest in it from you and not someone else. What are the benefits they’ll experience by doing business with you? This should be the focus of your meta description
- When writing your Meta description, write it to benefit the reader. So instead of talking about the product or service focus on getting across to the reader the benefits of the product or service. Consider what makes your product or service valuable and why they should invest in it from you and not someone else. What are the benefits they’ll experience by doing business with you? This should be the focus of your meta description
- Use natural language and avoid using industry-standard jargon. If you’ve carried out your keyword research effectively then it should be easy to know what to write. It’s important to use language that speaks directly to the customer.
- Use keywords strategically. As already mentioned, including relevant keywords and phrases in your meta description can help improve both your CTRs and organic search rankings., Try using some of the same keywords and phrases you’re targeting in your title tags and H1 headlines throughout your meta description for the best results.
- Finally, make sure that you include a call-to-action (CTA). This could be something like, “Click here to learn more” or “Visit our website now for exclusive deals.” Including a CTA, not only encourages searchers to click through but also helps guide them toward taking the next step on their buyer’s journey once they land on your site.
As you can see, there’s a lot more to writing effective meta descriptions than merely filling in the space beneath your website title in the SERPs. If you take the time to create compelling descriptions that focus on benefits for the searcher over features and use relevant keywords, you’ll be well on your way toward improving both your CTRs and organic search rankings (use Google Search Console to see these), driving more traffic (and revenue!) to your business in the process.
