SEO can be a very tricky subject. That you’re hitting it right today does not guarantee your top spot tomorrow – yea, I mean just 24 hours. It can be that crazy!

I’m not even considering your competition now. The fact that Google makes a hundred changes to its algorithm – about 500 to 600 times – is something to worry about.

But luckily, there exists some aspects that matter and aren’t likely to become irrelevant. This means you can invest more time in doing them perfectly and get the desired results in the long run. One such aspect is the meta description element.

So to help you make good use of metadata, let me show you how to write the correct meta description that compels and boosts your ranking.

Let’s start with understanding what a meta description is.

What is a Meta Description?

The meta description is an attribute that is embedded in the HTML of your site – usually about 15 characters. They provide a summary of the content of your web page. In addition to the fact that they can influence click-through rates, they also influence how Google ranks your pages.

And since meta description affects the overall user experience, which Google considers for ranking, you should invest greatly in writing the correct one. Moreover, when optimized properly, they are a great element for on-page SEO.

However, there’s a part of the meta description that no longer has any effect on your SEO – meta keywords tag. They factored greatly until the practice of keyword stuffing became a norm.

To move a little deeper into this post, I want to talk about the best practices to crafting a good meta description.

Practices to Writing a Good Meta Description

1. Up to 155 Characters – and sometimes more

Usually, Google truncates the meta description to about 155 characters. While this is true, there’s no proper length to writing one. It all depends on if they accurately convey your message in a sufficiently descriptive way. However, if you must write more than 155 characters, ensure to get the crucial information, including your keywords, in the first 155 characters as Google will truncate the remaining characters.

Well, I advise that you don’t focus too much on character count, instead, on user experience.

In fact, according to SEMRush, they noticed after an experiment that the variation of meta characters they used that exceeded 320-character count yielded better click-through results and ranked higher. (https://moz.com/blog/how-long-should-your-meta-description-be-2018)

This affirms my view that user experience is the measure we need to consider above others.

My concluding thought on this is that word count isn’t the best measure to focus on when it comes to writing a good meta description. And you should not be bothered going beyond the ‘155 characters’ Google embraces.

2. Be Unique – use action voice

You should get creative and interesting when writing a meta description – not boring. And the best way not to sound boring is by writing in an active tone. Active voices have been recognized to provide a push for a reader.

Also, including the benefits a user gets when they click through is key. Nobody is interested in wasting time anywhere or embracing what’s not beneficial to them. Moreover, people surf the web to get solutions to whatever they need help with.

Including CTA

Since the meta description serves as an advertising copy, it should include some call-to-action tags. However, you should ensure that it’s readable, inactive tone with a compelling format. A meta description is your sure bet on advertising your content to users, and so, must be intelligently written.

After writing a thorough description, it’s important to leave users with a call-to-action prompt. Here are some examples. Learn more, Get it now, check it out for free.

3. Containing the focus keyword

You spend quality time getting the top-ranking keywords and include them into your blogs, title tags, and even your landing pages.

So, why not include them in your meta description?

Google ranks a page more if it contains a search keyword users search on the web. And not including them in your metadata could cost you more than you expect.

If the keyword in your meta description matches the search of a user, Google will consider your page useful and highlight the keyword. Then, the chance of the user clicking to see the content on your page becomes higher.

Simple right?