5 tips for writing a good meta description

You have probably have learned that it's important to write a good meta description, but what does that mean?

The meta description is the small summary that appears in search results or previews of your website. This text has no direct impact on your visibility, but it is a deciding factor on whether or not people actually click on your link when it appears in search results.

It is, therefore, vital that this is well thought out and formulated.

So what do you really need to think about – apart from remembering to write one of course? Here are our five tips:

1) A natural use of keywords

Why do you have to think about keywords when the meta description has no direct impact on SEO? Well, even if the words in the meta description do not determine if your website appears in the search result, it's crucial that the person who searches sees you write about the topic they are looking for.

If the searcher sees a natural use of the keyword in the meta description, it will indicate that you are most relevant to what the person is looking for.

2) Keep it around 300 characters

Google previously had 160 characters as its limit for meta descriptions in its search results. If you used more characters than this, Google simply cut the text after 160 characters, and you could risk having the main point drop off.

Now, they have opened up for longer meta descriptions. So how long should it really be? MoZ has found that meta descriptions should be on average 300-325 characters, so why does Google cut down on some meta descriptions that are only 100-200 characters?

During their survey, MoZ found that meta descriptions containing a video clip have a shorter character limit than those that are text only. Some meta descriptions also appear to be shortened as a standard, possibly by the content management system.

In conclusion, MoZ recommends around 300 characters.

3) Include a Calls-to-action

You may think it is superfluous to tell people that you want them to click on your link, but some people need to be spoon-fed sometimes. With this we do not mean you should simply type "Click Here", but depending on what the page contains, you can tell them why they should take a look.

If it's a blog post, write "Read our best tips for inbound marketing here". The point is: the text must contain a verb so that it acts as a "Call to Action".

4) Formulate as if you answer a question

You may have noticed that Google displays short answers and definitions for some searches? These are called "Google Quick Answers," and should not be underestimated. This response appears above the rest of the search results, and the selected one does not necessarily have to rank as number one in this search.

The most important thing is that Google can see that you answer the question briefly and concisely. According to the Search Engine Journal, the meta description will largely determine whether your page appears as such a response in Google.

If you have an article or page that addresses a problem, the meta description should indicate that you respond to it. The content on the page should go deeper into the issue than the answer highlighted in Google Quick Answers.

5) Be unique

It's not just your website that will appear in the search results, so how can you distinguish yourself from the other options? One way to stand out is to be the top result. Climbing to the top in Google is not done in one day, so in the meantime, you can test different texts in the meta description that stand out.

Maybe humour can be a tool? Engage someone who has experience with content production if you have the opportunity and get help writing good meta descriptions that result in more clicks!