There’s a simple art to writing a meta description. Some have compared it to composing a tweet, with its 156 character limit, but here we show you how it’s done
Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation meet harmoniously in the middle to create 156 characters of capital that encompasses your brand to the world. If not done correctly, it can cause search mayhem in the SERPs.
As an SEO Agency in Manchester, we understand how reaching your audience through search is vital as a touchpoint to the world, here we’ll show you how to effectively write meta descriptions for search.
What is a meta decription?
Simply put, the meta description is the snippet of text that appears below the blue URL in Google’s search results page (SRP). Any words that have matched a users search query are highlighted in bold and any complementary assets such as star ratings, the author’s thumbnail (linked to Google+ and Google Authorship – a Google program launched to enhance list results in search using the rel=author markup) and site links appear alongside the search result.
Writing the meta description
Here are some key elements to ensure you feature in the SRPs.
Search Terms. Don’t forget that keywords matching the users query will be matched in bold and therefore draw the eye’s attention to your result and increase your chances of click through
Brand message/strap line – This makes you stand out and differentiates you in a crowded marketplace. This is your opportunity to think ‘what sells you?’
Compelling marketing message – Write something that markets the contents of the page
USPs – discounts and offers that promote your company is a way unique to the competition
Make it unique – If you don’t and you copy off someone else, Google Webmaster Tools will tell you off! So make sure your meta description is unique to the contents of the page!
Here’s how you can cram this into 156 characters!
31 great examples of marvellous meta descriptions for search
What happens if you don’t write a meta description?
Google’s automated system will find your page based on how suitable and useful a selection of text from the page itself, also any featured search terms will help encourage that all important click through.
Failing that, Google won’t consider your site’s/page content to be of any relevance to the searcher’s query and will ignore your page. So, you decide, what’s more important?
How Jungle can help you
We have an expert team who specialise in search engine optimisation and understand how when done correctly, can be a powerful internet marketing technique that effectively drives more traffic to your website by improving its visibility in search engines such as Google.
Interested?
For more information on SEO and the results Jungle can swing for your business, download our SEO Survival Guide or click here to contact our team and let’s start putting your business on the digital platform it deserves.
