Updated January 11, 2023
Reading Time: 3 minutesAdvertising to Get You in The Door
Meta descriptions might not set your pulse racing, but they are an integral part of SEO. Getting your meta descriptions right can give your website a massive boost. A well-written meta description is as important as a well-written PPC ad and is going to get a great deal more impressions. Like the neon signs pictured above, meta descriptions should catch the eye and pull you in. So what ingredients do you need to have in the perfect meta description?
The ideal length of characters is around 150, which means you don’t have a great amount of space to sell your web pages, so it’s important to get to the point quickly while still being enticing. When you’re on a search engine you don’t want to click on the wrong link, so you want to make as informed a decision as possible before you click. Otherwise, you’re going to have to go back to the search engine and take another risky click.
A good meta will talk to our customers about a problem they have and then explain how you can solve that problem. While doing this it will also stay on brand with the rest of your website, and reflect the tone of content you have all across your site.
Beta Meta Descriptions
Below is an example of a meta description that isn’t particularly compelling:
This is a meta description for their homepage, so it should offer general information about the company. In this case, the company is a physical store and has an online shop, so their location is important, as is the fact that you can order online from them. They also buy and sell electronic components and equipment (as the description says).
While being founded in 1963 might be interesting information, and clearly demonstrates that this business has been around for a long time, is it relevant to a searcher looking for electronics? No. Does it help them solve their problem? No. Unless they’re looking for Silicon Valley companies that were established in 1963.
They have wasted almost 15% of their ad, which if you added it to the end of their ad text, would enable them to mention that they sell online. Or it could give examples of best-selling products. Or their location. All of these different points would help a user know more, useful, information about the company before clicking. Remember, you don’t just want clicks for the sake of clicks. You want relevant clicks that turn into customers. For example, if your store doesn’t sell online then you don’t want people clicking thinking that you do. This will artificially increase your website statistics which will be confusing and eventually harm your SEO ranking.
Getting Betta at Meta
Here is an example of a better meta description from the same store, but for their eBay listing:
This is a bit of a cheat because the meta is for their eBay site, but it shows the difference clearly. This meta gives you an idea of the size of their store, range of items they stock and an idea of what type of customers they serve. Things could be more concise, but as a searcher, I would be much more likely to click on this second meta description than the first.
Do you see common mistakes in meta descriptions? We’d love to hear how you make the most out of the limited space you have to sell your website.
Photo credit – Top: Wikipedia/a>