Sometimes finding SEO success takes some good old-fashioned copywriting. And meta descriptions is one of those places. They still require a smidge of technical knowledge, but 99% of meta description success relies on good writing. Keep reading to learn how to write meta descritpions. 

Today we’ll look at crafting the best meta descriptions possible so that your web traffic increases. 

What are Meta Descriptions? 

Before we dig into the details of writing meta descriptions, we should talk a bit about what meta descriptions are. At the most basic level, a meta description is a summary of a webpage. They provide the short paragraph that appears under the clickable link on SERPs (search engine results page). 

The top priority of your meta description writing should be to entice searchers to click your link. It’s your chance to make a mini-sales pitch about why your page is the one that answers their questions. It also provides context to search engine bots as they crawl your page, but your primary focus should be on increasing the CTR. 

Where do Meta Descriptions Go?

Now that you know what meta descriptions are, its time to talk about what to do with them. Writing the world’s best meta description won’t do you any good if you don’t know where to put it. If your website is hard-coded, the meta description will go in the head of your webpage. If you don’t know what that means, then it is probably best to ask your web designer to help you update them.  

If you’re using WordPress or similar CMS, you can update your meta descriptions relatively easily – especially with an SEO plugin like Yoast. Just find the meta description box that is supplied through your CMS or plugin and get to work! 

How to Write Meta Descriptions

As with any creative endeavor, writing eye-catching meta descriptions takes practice, practice, and more practice. Before we go any deeper, just start writing. The quality will get better over time, I promise.  

With that said, keep the following tips in mind as you start writing your meta descriptions: 

• Be a Salesperson. Salespeople get a bad rap – but good SEO writers have a bit of salesperson to them. Your meta description is the time to let your inner salesperson come out in full force. Your copy should entice the searcher to click on your link because it offers answers to their burning questions. 
• Know Your Audience. Good meta description writers are also part marketer. To write good meta descriptions, you need to know the pain points and questions that your audience is looking to solve. Knowing your audience well will always result in more clicks. 
• Use Your Keywords. The meta description is the perfect place to include your targeted keyword. It won’t have much of an impact on your SEO, but it is a powerful click boost. Google will add bold type to any matched keywords – which will draw the attention of potential customers. 

• Be Concise. With a meta description, you only get about 300 characters before Google truncates your text. Twitter allows 280 characters, so think of your meta descriptions as super-charged tweets about your content. 

Earning Clicks, Earning Business

Getting searchers to click on your link is the first step to converting new customers. And good meta descriptions are essential in earning new SERP clicks. When you’re a busy business owner, it is easy to ignore the little things like meta descriptions – but it could be costing your business. 

That’s why when you’re looking for an SEO agency, you should find one that can write as good as they code. Not to toot our own horn, but we specialize in combining high-quality writing with in-depth technical knowledge. 

You can learn more about all our SEO offerings here or view our various SEO plans by clicking here.