What Is A Meta Description and Why Does It Matter?
Whenever I write blogs or articles for clients, I always ask if they would like a suggested meta description to accompany their written piece. While those who have already taken a turn on the SEO jargon carousel often say “yes please!”, others haven’t the foggiest what a meta description might be.
Of course, I’m always happy to explain, because this techy term is not exactly common knowledge! If you – dear reader – are also in the dark, then you’ve come to the right place. Here, I’m going to give you a whistle-stop tour of the small but mighty role of the meta description, so you can wear this particular tech-terminology badge of honour with pride!
You Said S-E-What Now?
Ah yes, before we zero in on the topic at hand, it’s worth saying that those three letters dropped so ambiguously above stand for search engine optimisation. This term describes all of the tools we harness in an effort to increase how much web traffic search engines send our way, and various forms of meta magic can be considered part of the SEO resource pool. So – to give some examples – fantastic SEO practices might include building a website that is easy for Google to map and interpret, or generating marvellous content that can answer the burning questions that curious people seek answers for online.
When a myriad of different resources are pooled into one great SEO strategy, a brand can gain themselves a steady stream of incoming website traffic, filled with new potential customers. The wonderful thing about SEO is that once in motion, it doesn’t require such a sizeable ongoing advertising budget because search engines do the heavy lifting for you. In this area, meta descriptions can be considered something of a finishing flourish, because they assist us in nudging those search-engine-sourced visitor clicks ever higher!
So, Where Do Meta Descriptions Fit In?
If you picture a Google search results page in your mind’s eye, you’ll probably recall that each of the listings that appeared before you were comprised of a small website link, a larger title, and then a bite-size chunk of text. Of course, in certain cases you may discover other meta details, such as a star rating, a price, or even a picture – this will depend upon what you Googled. But when we discuss the meta description specifically, we are addressing that short chunk of text that gives some insight into what might lay ahead if you click to see more.
In order to convey why this snack-sized body of text matters, we can turn to the beloved film Dead Poets Society, in which Robin Williams famously uttered: “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” It’s true that words can have a powerful impact and, in the case of meta descriptions, choosing the most compelling wording can mean the difference between a visit from an exciting new prospect, or that special somebody simply scrolling on by…
What Happens If I Don’t Set A Meta Description?
Lots of website owners don’t set their own meta descriptions. In these cases, Google does its best to generate a relevant meta description on behalf of users. The idea is that the search engine in question will endeavour to pluck out a chunk of text that relates to the search term they used. This can work marvellously at times – however, at others, Google’s judgement can be a little squiffy! Choosing your own meta descriptions allows you to curate the way your webpages appear in search results, with the ultimate aim of increasing valuable clicks!
Full disclosure: Google may still hijack your meta description if it believes that the text doesn’t convey what the content is really about and what the searcher is hoping to find, so that description had best be on-point. Clever stuff, eh?
How Can I Take Control of My Meta Descriptions?
Meta descriptions can be coded into a webpage, but since most of us aren’t au fait with programming, there are handy tools we can turn to for assistance. Contemporary SEO tools allow us not only to assess the SEO status of our webpage content, but also to give search engines a heads-up on our keywords of choice and pop in our own meta descriptions too.
In this pursuit, I love to use Yoast the most (apologies for the poetry!) Yoast is a user-friendly plugin that provides loads of clues on how to ensure a webpage is ready to perform at its best, with both free and premium versions available.
Writing Meta Descriptions Means Saying A Lot With Just A Little
When writing a meta description, it’s important to remember that there is one purpose to fulfil, but there are two audiences to dazzle! The purpose is to convey what the webpage in question has to offer. In terms of audience, we need to consider both the search engine and the searcher when crafting a fantastic snippet of text. The meta description is another opportunity to place keywords that Google will spot, but it should also be geared towards its human readers – capturing imaginations and tempting searchers to click through and learn more!
The central theme of that Robin Williams-featuring cinematic masterpiece we touched upon earlier is Carpe Diem, which means seize the day in Latin. This is a perfect metaphor for the role of the meta description, which must wow readers with only a handful of characters! Depending on which device is being used, Google usually truncates this chunk of text to 160 characters or even fewer, so we can be certain that each character ought to be chosen wisely.
This brief opportunity to paint a picture with words should do tantalising justice to the content that it will link to, with relevant keywords placed towards its beginning to ensure that they always appear. When all of this is achieved, we can not only seize the day, but also the meta description itself, the would-be customer’s attention, and ultimately – with a little luck – a growing audience for your brilliant brand!