How To Improve Your Meta Description

Improving meta descriptions

Once you’ve nailed the perfect formula for your site’s meta titles, it’s time to move onto your descriptions.

This is the gray section of your search result, and can be found using the same “site:URL.com” search term:

Unlike the meta title, meta descriptions allow more space to play with. The 160-character limit permits sentences to be used, but you’ll need to put some thought into your language, structure and word choice if you want to make them successful!

1. Optimize call-to-actions

Earlier in this article, I briefly touched on the fact that calls-to-action (CTAs) are a great, direct way to encourage someone to do something online. However, unlike meta titles where you run the risk of sounding too direct, you can go all-out in your description field.

After all, it’s likely to be your last chance of getting somebody to click your site, as opposed to one of the nine listed beside you!

Successful calls-to-action don’t just ask you to do something, they have a sense of urgency. They make you feel like you need to do the action immediately, instead of putting it off and running the risk of forgetting.

I love the example by Sainsbury’s below, as it combines two great things: a reward for completing the action (collecting rewards points) and a time in which they should do it (today):

2. Include USPs

Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) are small facts that set you apart from competitors. And, in an environment whereby your website is pitted-against nine others on Google’s first page, it can bring massive success if they’re used within meta descriptions.

Clickz found that when a USP was implemented on their client’s site, the overall conversion rate was increased by over 33%. Just imagine the impact that such a massive improvement could have on your search results!

In this example, I’ve highlighted how Macy’s have used their USP and made it obvious to searchers deciding on a site to visit:

Their USP of free shipping is capitalized and used below the introduction to their meta description. That makes it more visible to the searcher, giving them a better incentive to click-through and shop.

If you offer any of the following services, consider trialing that as your USP:

• Next-day delivery
• Fully-trained support staff
• The best quality products
• One-year guarantee
• Free returns

3. Solve your audience’s problem

The final factor that can significantly improve the success of your meta description is overcoming your audience’s problem.

Online shoppers can have many obstacles that may put them off from purchasing from you. From worrying about whether their item will be delivered on-time to debating whether they’re paying over the odds for a product, it’s your job to guide your audience around their pre-purchasing dilemma.

How do you do that, exactly? By telling them you understand their problem and that you’re there to help – before they even visit your site.

Meta descriptions are the best way of communicating with a user before they visit a site listed in their search results. If you’re telling them that you have the solution to their problem, why wouldn’t they choose you as being worthy of their click?

Here’s a great example of this being done by Parcelforce:

Being a parcel courier, their audience’s biggest dilemma is likely to be choosing a provider that is reliable. We’ve all heard of the discouraging stories of precious items being lost in the mail, but they’ve helped their audience to break down this misconception by simply using the word ‘reliable’.

Their audience may also worry that they’ll inquire about a service, only to find that they’re limited – or even worse, prohibited – from doing something by an extensive list of terms and conditions. To get over that hurdle, they’ve mentioned a list of ‘guaranteed services.’ This way, anyone looking to send a parcel will know that if something listed on the page, it’s possible to do.

Now that you’ve mastered the formula of perfect meta tags, it’s time to improve meta titles and descriptions, recording the results as you go.

Don’t forget that split-testing is crucial, and you should always trial different USPs, CTAs and problem-solving tactics to find the best formula for your business.

Record your results and try another combination until you’ve found a structure that works for you.

The 3 main criteria of the meta description tag to keep in mind are:

• Keywords: Insert the main keywords for which your page is optimized, this will show the user that your page perfectly meets his request.
• Size: Do not exceed 230 characters for the description otherwise Google will cut it off.
• The Attractiveness: The meta description is not only intended for search engines, but also for Internet users who will come to your website if the description is attractive and describes what they are looking for. Does Google understand if your site is attractive? No, but it understands what users click on. This is the famous “Click Through Rate” (CTR), whether people clicked on your link or not. So, you have to make them want to!

Useful recommendations

• Make sure your page description matches your page title and content. When the engines find an incompatibility in the elements, they can penalize you.
• In order to avoid being recognized as spam by search engines, use sentences with verbs, plus it will give meaning to your description.
• Write this tag down as a well-constructed, well-spelled sentence with punctuation. It is important to reassure Internet users with clear expressions and without mistakes.
• Create brand new and unique meta descriptions to improve your user experience.