- Welcome to The Journey.
Today we're talking about how to edit meta descriptions
for your website.
So if you're creating a website from scratch
or using website builder, you might've seen space
on your website for your meta-description.
- Yeah, and if you pay attention to
search engine optimization, then you have undoubtedly heard
about meta descriptions in the past.
- But if you aren't familiar with the term
you might not be able to say what a meta-description is
or how to use one properly.
So learning how to write meta descriptions can not
not only help you with your search engine rankings
for your pages, but you can also earn more click-throughs
from visitors who encounter your results
on those search engines too.
- Yeah, and we'll start with the basics
and then we'll explain how to write meta descriptions
for each of your websites.
- So let's start with what is a meta-description?
Well, a meta-description is an HTML tag in an HTML code
of your website that allows you to basically
write a description for the page itself.
And it plays a role with how your page is seen
by search engine crawlers and how it appears in SERP.
- So in your website builder, you'll likely
have a box that's labeled meta-description where
you can type in there, and in the backend,
so the HTML, you'll actually have something like this.
- And do a Google search, you'll see a list
of webpages and that blue title right there,
that's your meta title and the description
right below that is your meta description.
Since this is one of the first things that your visitors see
when they're looking through Google or other search engines,
it's your chance to persuade those visitors
to click that link and visit your website.
- So if your meta descriptions are, in fact, effective
in this persuasion, here's what you're going to see.
Higher CTR, so click through rates
and it's also going to benefit your traffic,
both organic and through your search rankings.
- Google search engine crawlers understand
that meta-tags in the back-end
of your code are meant to describe the nature
of the content of your pages.
Now it's not certain whether your meta-description
affects your rankings but it can affect your rankings
in indirect ways.
For example, a web crawler might use that meta-description
to learn more about what that page entails
and make sure it appears to those relevant searches.
- So what is the purpose?
Well, the meta descriptions are there to tell
the web crawlers and the human users,
what the page is all about.
- And for web crawlers, it serves as context
to basically understand the relevance of that page
and for human users, it's a chance to see what that page
or that brand is all about.
- So for you, it's an opportunity to rank higher
in relevant searches and persuade more visitors to go
to your site instead of competitors in the SERPs.
- And now that we have a good understanding
of what a meta-description is, let's talk about the elements
of an effective meta description.
When writing an effective meta-description,
you'll have two main goals.
You want to appease the search engine crawlers
for higher rankings.
And you'll also want to persuade visitors
on those search engine results to click your pages.
- So let's talk about meta description length.
Now, historically the length was about 155 characters
but Google has bumped that up to 320.
- If you write anything beyond that, it won't be seen
by web crawlers and it becomes essentially useless.
Now I'm going to read this directly, try to keep it
to 160 characters or fewer and use a maximum
of two sentences.
- Meta description tone, let's talk about that.
Now this should also be written
with an active and energetic voice
and a blunt straightforward description of the content
on your page might actually help with crawlers
like to understand, hey, what is your page about
but it isn't going to motivate any clicks.
- Now, moving on to target keywords and phrases.
So ideally your page will target a mix
of different keywords and phrases.
So you'll have diversity of different competitive
ranking opportunities.
However you want to avoid meta descriptions
that are just so stuffed with specific keywords
that it just reads unnaturally.
Again, you're trying to persuade visitors to click
on your link and it just stuffed with keywords.
It's gonna appear spammy
and not really relevant to their search.
- Which makes me think of relevance, right Nealey?
So this is important to ensure that your pages rank
for the most relevant phrases and to ensure that, you know
your visitors find appropriate content
when they do click through.
- Yeah, and you want to basically differentiate
your brand as well.
So you'll be competing with a few other brands,
if not thousands on those search engine result pages
and maybe users will be evaluating your meta descriptions
versus someone else.
And if your sounds too generic,
or it doesn't really hook them in,
you're not going to get any clicks.
- Totally Nealey, and that makes me think of persuasiveness.
Your method of persuasion will depend on your
target audience and your main goals.
So think about what that is for you
but usually it requires you to tease potential visitors
with a hint of what are they going to get out of this?
What's the value that they'll receive when
they actually visit your page and what new knowledge
or skills will they attain when they read your content?
What are your products and why are they better than others?
- Now let's talk about how to actually
write a meta-description.
So now let's focus on you.
What's the right way to approach writing a meta-description
if you've never written one before?
So we have a couple of straightforward tips
that anyone can easily follow.
So the first tip I have for you is to do your research.
So starting with a round of keyword research to
really learn the most valuable targets for your brand.
- And don't forget to jot them down.
Jot down the main focus of each of your pages,
write down the idea that you want for each page
and for which you need that meta-description for.
- And next up is to study the competition.
And while you don't want to copy them verbatim,
it is going to help you come up with some ideas
that you can start using or looking down the path of
for your own keywords in your description.
And remember you want to differentiate yourself,
make sure you're not copying from those brands exactly.
- And one of my favorite things to do
and I recommend you do the same,
write an active first draft.
I know I do before I send out any card
regardless of the holiday, but remember to write it
in an active voice to persuade your potential visitors.
- And the last tip here is to trim to size.
So I want you to really clean up any ambiguous phrases
with more specific keywords that talk about the page itself
and adjust any tonal discrepancies to keep the focus
on persuading that visitor to click on your page
and see all the good stuff that it has to offer.
- And fortunately, there are some helpful tools out there
for writing meta descriptions, thank goodness.
So if you're attempting to write a meta description
on your own, there are some online tools
that can help you out.
One of them, I know of Yoast SEO for WordPress.
It has a ton of features that make it easy to write, assign,
and edit meta descriptions for your most important pages.
- Yeah, Emma, that is a fantastic tool.
I actually use it on every single one of my website builds
for my clients so I'll highly recommend that one.
Another one is SEO book.
It's basically just a free meta-description generator
and you can likely find similar meta-description
generators all over the web
but SEO book as a pretty legit one.
- And these can be useful for helping you to come up
with new ideas, but I would be wary of
using them exclusively.
Take the time to edit and polish their recommendations
to perfect them.
- Meta descriptions are just one of several vital components
for your onsite optimization strategy.
And fortunately, you don't have to shoulder the SEO strategy
by yourself.
And if you're really looking to work less and rank higher
don't be afraid to get a little help from the experts.
- All right, that's a wrap.
Be sure to leave us a comment, also subscribe to our channel
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this is The Journey.
Thanks for watching.
- And see you next time.