A good meta description is a door to unique content full of helpful information, but its role is often neglected. Many companies overlook the meta description, thinking it isn’t vital, and that’s understandable. Comparing it to the entire article, it may appear that the meta description isn’t that crucial to pay close attention to. And still, a meta description is essential and can spark people’s enthusiasm even when they are not too interested in what you provide on your Internet site.

What is a meta description, exactly?

So what is a meta description in the first place? In plain terms, it’s a summary of the content. And it’s not just a tedious wrap-up – a high-quality meta description must be enticing and convince people to click the link and check its content entirely. While writing devices and strategies differ depending on the niche the article falls under, the meta’s size is always the same – 156 characters. Yup, it’s just one or two sentences, but believe it or not, a well-constructed meta description works wonders.

What makes a gripping meta description?

As you can see, the space for writing a meta description is limited, so every symbol counts. A sterling meta description has a few properties, including:

• Precision: Top copywriters and reporters state that exactitude is the first thing the meta description has to have. It shouldn’t contain anything not included in the article.
• Informativeness: A good meta description synthesizes loads of data and provides the most valuable info in just one sentence.
• Curiosity: However large and alluring blogs are, creating an exciting meta is indispensable. An ellipsis, for instance, fuels people’s enthusiasm and makes them more inclined to click the link to show more

Tips for writing a killer meta description

Devising a snippet isn’t time-consuming if you approach it thoughtfully. Below are essential steps to help you craft an attention-getting meta description, no matter your niche.

          Wear the searcher’s shoes

First, you must consider your target audience alongside their intentions. What would a person be interested in when looking for specific content? Is it more related to technicalities or other aspects? Many marketers and SEO specialists aim to make the blog rank as high in the search engine list as possible. But if you misuse the meta description and include information about techniques rather than visuals, the chances are your target users would simply skip your page and scroll down. Therefore, ensure your meta description tackles people’s inquiries and intents.

          Add keywords, always

Although repetitions aren’t advised throughout the content, this recommendation doesn’t spread to meta descriptions. Keywords are important in that they push the content upward in the ranking list and make the link more visible. Even if keywords are already in the SEO title and headline, don’t hesitate to add them to the meta description. Just ensure they naturally occur in the sentence and don’t weaken readability.

          Pique the interest and stimulate the click

Since meta descriptions are short, their variety may seem limited. And for many copywriters, it does seem so. They mainly focus on answering the search query directly or sparking users’ interest and making them visit the page. In reality, however, the ways of writing a meta description are numerous. The most practical and time-tested strategy is a combined one, where you give the readers a partial answer and still get them to click the link. Remember that ellipsis we wrote about earlier? Use it to stimulate the click!

          Consider adding your brand name

Including a brand name in the SEO title and meta description can multiply clicks, especially if your company is established in the field and has a sound reputation. However, whether to add the name depends on how long it is. If including the enterprise name will take a third part of the character limit, it’s best to avoid it or include its first letters if it comprises several words.

          Mind punctuation, no matter the description’s character limit

Sacrificing punctuation to insert additional keywords will do you no good, for it will decrease coherence and readability and make people slow down their scanning, which is undesirable. Remember that people should get what the piece is about by skimming the meta description. Breaking down a hard-to-read sentence into two smaller sentences with proper punctuation will let searchers get the gist.

Power up your meta description writing with the best practices

Concise writing is perhaps one of the most important and applied skills you need to craft a stunning meta description. Luckily, it’s pretty doable, but the experience will come after constant drills. To help you with this undertaking, try adopting the following best practices for writing meta descriptions:

• Refrain from using first-person pronouns to get rid of unnecessary familiarity
• Avoid including fillers and weasel words, like well, people say,
• Free up space by excluding prepositions, qualifiers, and intensifiers
• Build your sentences in an active voice; it will take less space and enhance readability.

A meta description is a small place under the page’s link carrying specific information. It aims to grab searchers’ attention and make people complete the necessary action – click the link. Writing a good meta description will be less challenging as you progress, but you shouldn’t neglect to brainstorm ways to make it appealing. Use the tips from above, and you’ll master your writing skills promptly.