A SHORT GUIDE TO WRITING QUALITY META DESCRIPTIONS
Your meta descriptions are important for your website’s SEO. Make sure they are clear and concise so potential viewers will be able to get a good idea of what your page is about before clicking through to it. In addition, high-quality descriptions can be displayed on SERPs, and can also help improve the quality & quantity of your website’s search traffic.
Let’s dive into some examples to get better at writing meta descriptions:
DETAILS INCLUDED | BAD WAY OF WRITING | GOOD WAY OF WRITING |
Keywords | <meta name=”description” content=”Sewing supplies, yarn, colored pencils, sewing machines, threads, bobbins, needles”> Just a list of keywords | <meta name=”description” content=”Get everything you need to sew your next garment. Open Monday-Friday 8-5pm, located in the Fashion District.”> Explains what the shop sells and details like opening hours and location |
Description for articles | <meta name=”description” content=”Local news in Whoville, delivered to your doorstep. Find out what happened today.”> Same description used for every news article | <meta name=”description” content=”Upsetting the small town of Whoville, a local elderly man steals everyone’s presents the night before an important event. Stay tuned for live updates on the matter.”> Uses a snippet from the specific news article |
Summary of the page | <meta name=”description” content=”Eggs are a source of joy in everyone’s life. When I was a small child, I remember picking eggs from the hen house and bringing them to the kitchen. Those were the days.”> Doesn’t summarize the page | <meta name=”description” content=”Learn how to cook eggs with this complete guide in 1 hour or less. We cover all the methods, including over-easy, sunny side up, boiled, and poached.”> Summarizes the whole page |
Length of the description | <meta name=”description” content=”Mechanical pencil”> Too short | <meta name=”description” content=”Self-sharpening mechanical pencil that autocorrects your penmanship. Includes 2B auto-replenishing lead. Available in both Vintage Pink and Schoolbus Yellow. Order 50+ pencils, get free shipping.”> Specific and detailed |
Lastly, your descriptions should be easy for people to read and understand and should also be diverse, so potential customers can get a good sense of what your product or service can offer them.