All the elements that make up your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) strategy are equally important, but meta descriptions are a great place to start. Aside from being highly visible in the SERPs, meta descriptions can also encourage site visitors to click and visit your site – after all, it’s people who will be reading these!

In this post, we’ll give you some tips for writing optimal meta descriptions by Zib Digital SEO Sydney, along with some examples of real-life meta descriptions that either get it right or could use improvement.”

Meta descriptions are a great way to enhance the visibility of your website and increase traffic. They can be accessed by search engines, which means that they are the first thing potential customers see when they visit your site.

Here are some guidelines for crafting the best Meta descriptions:

Don’t use keywords in your Meta description. The purpose of a Meta description is to get people to click on it so that they can learn more about your business. If you have nothing more interesting to say than “we do this, that and the other thing,” then you probably shouldn’t be using a Meta description at all.

Don’t talk about your content (unless you’re selling it). Most people aren’t going to want to read through a bunch of text simply because they want to know what else is on the page, or how much longer it will take them to get there. If you’re offering something interesting (like an ebook), then maybe mention that in the header or footer area of the site, but don’t make it seem like you’re trying to sell something by writing an entire page devoted to just that one thing!

Why are Meta Descriptions Important?

Meta descriptions can help you provide more context for your content and entice searchers to click on your link. They are shown in the search results below each result, so they give users a preview of what’s inside your page before they click through to visit it. Since meta descriptions are visible only in search results and not on web pages, you should be careful about how much information you include in them — try to keep them under 156 characters so that Google can show the entire description on its mobile search results pages (instead of truncating it).

Why should you use SEO Meta Descriptions?

The meta description is the first thing people see when they search for your company or product. It’s a summary of what you do, why it matters and how to contact you.

When someone clicks on your website from a search engine result, the meta description is the first thing they read before deciding whether or not to click through to your website. If you don’t have compelling content in this short snippet of text, then potential customers will likely leave before reading any further — and that could cost you sales!

Remember: your one-of-a-kind meta description is your opportunity to shine brightly like a freakin’ diamond! Here are some pointers on how to write effective meta descriptions.

Tip 1: Keep it short and snappy

• Keep it short and snappy.

Your meta description should be a clear and concise summary of your web page’s content. To do this, you need to keep the text as short as possible while still ensuring that the message is clearly communicated to readers.

The ideal length for a meta description is around 150 characters (including spaces). Anything longer than this may not be displayed by search engine results pages (SERPs) due to their limited space on mobile devices, which can leave users clicking elsewhere in frustration. If you’re having trouble fitting everything into 150 characters, try using bullet points instead of full sentences to break up your content into smaller chunks that are easier for people to read when scanning web pages quickly.

Avoid jargon or industry speak with simple language instead. A common mistake that many businesses make when writing their meta descriptions is using too much technical jargon or industry-specific terms, which can be confusing for users who aren’t familiar with these concepts or simply don’t care about them at all! Instead of trying too hard with big words just because they sound more intelligent than simpler ones like “optimal” or “snappy,” just stick with what works best: simple language anyone can understand easily enough without needing any prior knowledge on any specific topic.

Tip 2: Say what you mean

The first tip for writing an effective meta description is to say what you mean. You may have noticed that the meta description appears in a search result preview window, as shown below:

This is because Google uses this snippet of text as a way to describe your page to searchers, so it will use any words or phrases within the code as they are written. This means that if “good” and “awesome” are both used in various places throughout your website, Google might show both terms when users see them in search results!

Tip 3: Include a Call to Action

The call to action is a phrase that prompts the reader to take a specific action. It should be clear and concise, using simple language that anyone can understand.

The best place for the call to action is in the first half of your meta description, but you can also put it at the bottom if you have an extra sentence or two left over. The ideal location for a call-to-action (CTA) would be right after the most important point in your meta description: “Learn more about our products here…” or “Sign up today! Sign up now!”

Tip 4: Don’t forget your target keyword

Make sure your target keyword is in the meta description. Your target keyword should be used once or twice in each of the first 50 words of your meta description and two to three times throughout the rest of your copy.

If you’re not sure what your target keyword is, use this simple trick: take out a pen and paper, then write down everything you can think of about what makes someone go “oh yeah! I want to buy that!” from this page. What do they need? How much does it cost? Where can it be bought? What else do they need besides just this one thing? Write down any and everything that comes to mind when writing about what people would buy on Amazon. Then, pick out one word that keeps popping up over and over again (it needs an image! It has 4GB memory! It’s cheaper than all other brands!). That’s probably going to end up being your target keyword for this product listing—which may sound obvious, but sometimes we forget how important keywords are when talking about products online!

Tip 5: Avoid duplicate meta descriptions

• Do not duplicate meta descriptions. It’s important that you avoid using the same meta description on multiple pages, as this may cause Google to penalize your website for duplicate content. Instead of using the same meta description on all pages, it’s best to create unique descriptions for each one. This will help ensure that all of your pages are rated accurately by search engines and bring in more traffic from organic searches.
• Use keywords naturally in a sentence or two; don’t stuff them into the description just for SEO purposes.* Don’t make them overly long either; 2-3 sentences is plenty.* Avoid keyword stuffing (i.e., repeating the same words over and over again).

Conclusion

We know there are so many other ways to optimize your website as per Zib Digital SEO Sydney for the best user experience possible. If you’re interested in reading more, check out our blog post on how to optimize images for SEO!