How much thought have you put into your website’s META description?

What is a META description?

It is a snippet of text summarising the content of your web page. It appears in search engine results pages (SERPs) as a preview below the title of the page giving users an insight into what can be expected if they click the link.

Why is a META description important?

It has a significant influence on the decision to visit your website.

An engaging and relevant META description is vital to attract attention and encourage users to click on your link. When users see a description that accurately reflects their search intent, it reduces the chances of them returning to search results to find a better match, reducing bounce rates and increasing engagement.

Key characteristics of a META description

It should be between 50 to 160 characters. Too long and it will be truncated, too short and you will miss an opportunity to properly explain the benefits you deliver.

Avoid misleading descriptions as they will create a negative user experience.

Create a unique description for each page on your website, providing search engines a better understanding of content and users with relevant information.

Including relevant keywords helps search engines understand the page's context and influence click-through rates but avoid using just a list of keywords.

Remember, if you don’t create a META description, the search engine will make up one for you – and you can bet it won’t be nearly as compelling or as effective!