Top Meta Description Writing Tips

How can you get your content seen? Having strong meta descriptions is one way to help get more eyes on your content and website overall. Meta descriptions are integral to search engine optimization, SEO. They are the description that appears below the link of a search result. To rank higher, your meta description needs to emphasize the relevance of your content and have the right keywords so that Google believes your content is the best answer to whatever question was searched. Here are three top meta description writing tips.

Meta Description Writing Tips: Emphasize Relevance

If you do not emphasize the relevance of your content in your meta description, Google will be unlikely to rank it higher, making your content more difficult for readers to find. Therefore, emphasizing the relevance of your content is one of the best meta description writing tips to rank higher.

Anticipate and Answer Questions

Typically, most people are using Google to find answers to questions. In Kayla Carmicheal’s article, “How To Write Meta Descriptions,” at HubSpot she discusses how you should use your meta description to answer potential questions by emphasizing a solution or benefit. This way, you are already selling your answer to readers and Google before they even get to your content.

Describe What Your Content is About

While this may seem like an obvious tip, making sure you describe what your content is about is crucial to writing an effective meta description. Do not try to entice readers to your content with false promises or clickbait. Doing so will only lead your readers not to trust you. Plus, Google only ranks what it deems is the most relevant content. Therefore, if your meta description does not match what is on your site, there will be red flags.

Meta Description Writing Tips: Pitch Your Content

Pitching your content is another key tactic when writing effective meta descriptions. Carmicheal suggests thinking of meta descriptions as an elevator pitch for your webpage. In doing so, you should tell your reader not only why your content is the most helpful to them but you also need to make sure your content reflects what you are pitching in your meta description.

Call Readers to Action

Calling your readers to action is also integral to writing an enticing meta description. Writing phrases such as “read our article” or “click here to watch this video” gives your reader a tangible task to do. By having a clear call to action, you can more easily persuade your readers to engage with your content.

Emphasize Your Content’s Importance

Emphasizing your content’s importance goes hand in hand with pitching your content. Just like in an elevator pitch, where you would be pitching yourself and highlighting your achievements and skills, you should promote why your content is the best in your meta descriptions. Tell readers what they will gain from your content or services and how it will help solve their problem. If you do not promote the importance of your content, readers are less likely to give it the time of day.

Meta Description Writing Tips: Be Concise

Now, with all of the tips already discussed above, it may seem challenging to incorporate everything into a concise meta description. While it can be done, it is definitely difficult to do smoothly. Writing good meta descriptions is not an easy task. However, by following these tips, you can improve and make your meta descriptions more effective.

Write Short and Sweet Statements

Short and sweet is a good descriptor of what meta descriptions should be. With only 150-160 characters to make your pitch, brevity is key to your success. One to two sentences will typically be all you have room for, so you need to make every word count. How, then, can you decide what is the most important content to include? This goes back to anticipating what questions people are searching for. Once you have a good handle on that, then you need to par down your content to the core persuasive pieces that will make your pitch the most successful.

Integrate Your Keywords Smoothly

When writing meta descriptions, you can’t forget your keywords! Including keywords in your meta descriptions is crucial to SEO. However, do not overload your meta description with keywords. With how brief you need to be, using a keyword once is the perfect amount. If you use your keyword too much, Google may hurt your rankings for over-optimization.

There are many aspects to consider when writing meta descriptions. Emphasizing relevance, pitching your content and being concise are three of the top meta description writing tips to boost your rankings.

Want more meta description writing tips? RedMoxy’s team has you covered! Connect with us today to learn more.