How to Write Compelling Meta Descriptions

Building a strong online presence is a complex process. There are so many different elements that need to fit in together to help you build the right picture and attract the right audience. That includes mastering both on-page and off-page SEO. And one of the most important on-page SEO elements is your meta description.

A great meta description can help you stand out from your competitors and have more people visit your website. Let’s break it down further to see why you need a killer meta description and how to write it.

What is a Meta Description

Before we dig any deeper into the writing tips, let’s clarify the notion of meta descriptions. What is it, and why do you need it?

• A meta description is a short text that appears on the Google search results page, right under the page title.

The meta description describes what the page is about and helps your target audience decide whether or not to visit it. It answers these questions:

• What is the page about?
• Why should you visit it?
• What information will it provide?

And, unless you write compelling, quality meta descriptions, your audience will pick a different result and skip your page entirely.

Now, let’s take a look at the writing tips that will help you nail each meta description and always stand out from the rest of the search results.

1. Strong Opening

When you’re writing your meta description, you have to understand that your target audience isn’t going to read the whole thing.

Instead, they’re just going to take a quick look. If they like what they see, they might continue reading. If you fail to intrigue, they’ll move one.

This is why you need to open your meta descriptions with the most important information. Let’s compare:

• Your business’ growth is our concern- we will help you generate leads that will convert to customers
• Our company will make sure that your business has a strong and scalable growth strategy

The most important information is placed at the beginning, in the first example, making this meta description far more effective and influential.

2. Conciseness

You only have a limited number of characters to convey a strong message and impress potential page visitors.

We suggest you keep your meta descriptions up to 160 characters long.

That means you need to stick to conciseness:

• short sentences
• to the point
• remove redundancy

Think of a clear message and find the simplest way to say it. Make sure every word adds value and is necessary. This is the best way to write a strong, powerful meta description.

3. Keywords

If your page is ranking for a certain keyword, you need to make sure it’s in your meta description as well. To your target audience, it will be a signal that they are in the right place.

Make sure to include keywords following these principles:

• include the main keyword
• include the secondary keywords if possible
• implement them naturally
• don’t overstuff with keywords

Make sure the keywords are a part of a coherent sentence structure, and not just a bunch of words listed one after the other.

4. Strong CTA

Picture your target audience member. They’re reading your meta description. It’s informative, it’s concise, but they don’t feel the urge to click your page.

This is because you didn’t give them a reason.

A strong CTA is:

• catchy
• motivating
• inspiring

You need to include a message such as “Hire a digital marketing specialist today!” to ensure you provide that extra push to your potential customers and stop them from second-guessing.

5. Friendly Tone

Your meta descriptions need to sound like one friend talking to another. They’re chatting and having a laid-back conversation.

You don’t want to make it into a promotional, marketing message.

This is why you should:

• use everyday vocabulary
• use a friendly tone
• avoid technical terminology

Let’s compare:

• Our highly-professional and exquisite digital marketing specialists will ensure your company’s online presence is transformed into customers…
• Our digital marketing team will ensure your company’s online presence is converting into revenue.

Make it natural, simple, and conversational, just like in the second example.

6. No Tricks

Another super-important element of your meta description is honesty. If you think for a second that you can trick your audience into becoming your customer, you’re wrong.

Some marketers feel like they should write ambiguous or untrue meta descriptions to trick people into clicking their page.

But, once they realize the meta description doesn’t honestly describe the page content, they’ll be:

• frustrated
• confused
• angry

And, you’ll lose them forever.

Keep it honest and don’t play any games.

7. Uniqueness

There is no such thing as a one, ultimate, meta description template you can create and apply to all your pages.

On the contrary, each meta description needs to be unique. Make sure that you always:

• start from scratch
• think of something new
• convey a new dominating message

Final Thoughts

Writing compelling meta descriptions is a seriously responsible task that requires your full attention and dedication. Make sure you develop a clear strategy for always nailing each new meta description and showing your professionalism in every aspect of it.

Hopefully, the tips above will help you improve your writing skills and create meta descriptions that work with you on achieving your goals.

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