Too many debates have been going around on whether meta descriptions still matters to your SEO.
Yes, it does! But not to the extent it was before.
Google has also clarified this saying — meta descriptions are more about being an introduction to the page. Meta descriptions are some form of a summary of the content of the page. Over the years, it looks like Google has updated the definition of meta descriptions.
Per this updated definition, meta description has very limited scope when it comes to affecting the SEO of the page or the site. If you want to know more about how Meta Description Helps Google Understand Content click the link.
While meta descriptions have nothing much to do with SEO, making some silly mistakes can affect — organic traffic flow, click-through rates & conversion rate. So, you must pay heed to it and should not be making these silly meta description mistakes.
While they will not affect your SEO, but it does give a snippet of your content and Google bots read this snippet to understand what is there inside
There are a few best practices that you should not miss to follow when writing a meta description whether for an article or for a website page.
You may be astonished upon hearing that – but despite the fact that meta descriptions have nothing much to do with the SEO of your website, they still matter. It is where Google gets to understand what your content is all about.
Going back to the drawing board and recollecting everything you have learned about SEO and how Google decides about the relevancy of a piece of content or website — you will realize that it is not only ranking, SEO is all about. In fact, there are a number of other factors including:
Authority of your website.
Attracting audiences through quality content.
Encouraging actions by your audience.
This makes out that meta descriptions still matter as they provide a trailer of the entire picture that you are going to see. Your audience will decide whether to click or move on to the next link by reading this summary. If it’s interesting enough for the reader, he will decide to click, or if not he will quit.
Imagine how much traffic you might already have missed if you have been writing meta descriptions in the wrong way. Imagine how much revenue it might have generated for your business anyway.
Meta descriptions still matter. They are an opening gate and if indirectly says — you should not get in, there could be a huge loss you already have been incurring to your business unknowingly.
So, you should be very careful and should not be making silly meta description mistakes. This post lists out some of these common & silly meta description mistakes people usually make. Let’s dive to find out:
- Lengthier Meta Descriptions.
The first thing to know when learning how to correctly craft meta descriptions is making sure that you know the ideal length for a meta description. You must make sure that you are implementing this knowledge.
There is only that much room for the search engines to show your snippet both on mobile devices & desktops.
Keep the meta description length for desktops maximum to 160 characters & for mobile devices up to 120 characters.
There is no point in writing a lengthier description, Google will anyways cut it and rewrite your meta description.
Keep it concise, clear & engaging! Always follow rule 1.
- Too Short Meta description.
If you cannot create a meta description, which is lengthier than 160 characters & 120 characters for desktop & mobile devices respectively — you cannot keep it too short either.
You should utilize the entire room which has been given to tell people about your product or content. Most search engines consider meta descriptions that are too short as not relevant and you might not get the popularity you were eyeing.
- Confusion between Snippets & meta descriptions.
While snippets are the summary that the search engines display on the SERP, meta description is the one that you create.
As we discussed earlier, Google in most of the cases (as much as 70%) will rewrite your meta description. And, there are only 30% chances that the search engines will display your meta description on the SERP.
But, know that even if Google is not using your meta description, it will have a great influence on what it displays in SERP.
- Stuffing keywords
It is not a good practice to stuff keywords into your webpage content from the point of view of Search Engine Optimization — the same goes with meta description.
While it is good to place the primary keyword one time into your description, you cannot stuff multiple variations of the same keywords. This will only deteriorate the value of your meta description.
Google considers meta descriptions written in that fashion similar to the duplicate or non-aligned description. Don’t ever do that!
- No alignment with the page’s content.
This is one of the biggest mistakes most content marketers do!
We have already explained that the search engine considers meta description as the summary of the page content.
So, if you are writing something in your meta description that does not explain what the page content is all about — it does not make any sense.
Such an approach will not only reduce the chances of Google using your meta description, it will also reduce the chances of your content getting indexed.
Some other Silly Meta Description Mistakes you should not be making:
- Not using your primary keyword.
- Copy pasting your meta description.
- Writing dull & monotonous meta descriptions.
- Not using a call-to-action.
Final Words:
Meta descriptions still add value to your content!
You can still increase the chances of your content page ranking and improve conversion rate if you’re not making these silly meta description mistakes.
Correctly crafting your meta descriptions can still improve your organic search visibility and engage more targeted traffic.
It’s simple to correct.
It can turn many heads around if you are following the guidelines. You can maximize your visibility, conversion rate, and more.