One of the most talked-about topics in SEO is meta tags. It is the use of metadata that collectively includes the title tags and meta descriptions.
Now, meta descriptions might not be a ranking factor but it helps in conversions.
In this article, we have shared the definition of meta description and how it is different from metadata. We have also shared the free meta description generator tool and how would you use it.
What is an SEO meta description?
SEO Meta Description is the 150-200 character description that appears in search engine results.
The meta description is often used by website owners to help provide a concise summary of the content on the page. This text appears as a meta tag in a page’s HTML code.
Meta descriptions are short descriptions that are given to help search engines determine what the content is about.
The meta description is important because it has a direct impact on how people see your site in search results. Search engine users tend to click on the first page results that are displayed in search results.
This means that if your meta description appears on the top of the list, it will be more likely to get clicked by users.
Why should you use SEO meta descriptions?
Meta descriptions are important because they provide users with information about the content on your website. Search engines use meta descriptions to help determine how relevant your site is for a given search query.
While meta description may not affect page SEO but a compelling description is paramount for higher conversions.
There are many benefits of using an SEO meta description, here are some:
A meta description is like a mini ad for a webpage
Your site's meta description works like a mini ad for the page SERPs and social media feeds. It tells people why to look at your site or pages and promises you have something good for them there when they get there.
It's no surprise that people click on meta descriptions to see what they're all about. That means if you have a great one, it'll help bring more traffic to your site and increase conversions.
Defined meta descriptions look better in search results
In some cases where the user doesn't put up meta descriptions on their page, Google picks up the description from the content on its own. This can even result in a distorted page snippet.
Furthermore, the text wouldn't be what you want the searcher to look. Thus, a well-defined meta description would look better in search results and the visitors can get a hunch from the snippet itself.
Meta descriptions also increase click-through rates
People don't click on your link if they can't understand what it is. Therefore, a compelling meta description helps them do that and the result is more clicks and conversions.
Refer to the image below by Backlinko and you will find how meta descriptions can affect your page CTR.
SEO Meta Description is not an easy task at all.
The basic thing you need to know about SEO Meta Description is that it should be compelling, attention-grabbing, and unique. It should get the user's attention right away.
Meta descriptions can be a part of a larger rich snippet plan
Search engine optimization is not only limited to the meta title, page title, slug, and description. Some other tags or schemas can show up in search engine results as rich snippets.
Search engines show the larger chunks of text, ratings, or images depending on the page experience.
How to create and optimize SEO meta descriptions?
So, how to create a meta description tag for your page?
Here are a few tips to write compelling descriptions for your page:
Write a meta description for every webpage
The best practice is to write a meta description for every blog post or page you publish. Otherwise, Google will pick the uncluttered description text from the content.
If you haven't added in any, start by adding the meta description to the most important pages. For this, we built our free meta tag generator tool to make optimizing your meta tags easier for you.
To generate meta descriptions quickly, you can use the Scalenut AI meta description generator tool and pick the best one for your page.
Scalenut is a free tool for generating compelling meta descriptions for any type of page.
For example, our blog topic is 'How to find the insurance company?'. Here, we can generate as many meta descriptions and copy the better one.
So, how to create a meta description tag for your page? Here are few tips to write compelling descriptions for your page:
Do not use duplicate SEO meta descriptions
Using duplicate meta descriptions can be a bad practice. Do not use the same meta descriptions for the various snippets.
Hence, the meta descriptions you add should be unique.
Even if you have multiple pages on your website, make sure that each of your pages has a unique meta description. If you have more than dozens of pages, the meta generator tool can be a great time-saver.
Here is how a generated meta description would look for a service, about us, or any page you want to add to your site. However, you will need to put the right description to get a better output.
Be precise with character count
The optimum length of a meta description is 160-200 characters for the desktop pages. Hence, you can add up to 200 characters of space to your page meta description.
Scalenut AI meta description generator produces the meta descriptions that are usually 140-200 characters long.
Here is a screenshot of the character count for generated meta description from Scalenut.
Include the page’s targeted keyword
Every element of your web page must have a targeted keyword. Be it the page title, content, or meta description, target keywords give strong signals to the search engines about the page.
Don’t use quotation marks
Quotation marks or double quotes in the meta description can break the HTML code of the page. Hence, make sure to avoid using any quotation marks on your page.
Include value propositions
In 200 characters, you want to show your readers that what is going to benefit them. The best practice is to include the unique value proposition of the page.
A meta tag generator like an AI copywriter can help you in generating the value proposition in the meta tags.
Use active voice
A good writing tip is to write in the active voice as much as possible. Use active language when you are describing your content so that people will want to read it and pay attention to it.
Use Call-to-action
Don’t forget to add the call-to-action in your meta description. The call-to-action can help you in getting more engagement and improve conversions. You can use a cliffhanger to generate the reader's interest.
Don’t worry about meta keywords
Meta keywords are no longer of use now. If you are using the HTML version of the page, you might get confused here. In CMS like Wordpress, Meta keywords have less or no importance.
Use different rich snippets for Facebook and Twitter
Do you know that you can also change the Facebook and Twitter posts' meta descriptions?
Just like the web page, you can use the meta description writer to generate a compelling short description for your social media posts.
Optimize for other rich snippets
In some search results, the page also shows other schema markups like ratings, stars, or event information. You can optimize the page for rich snippets further by adding structured data to your page.
How to use Scalenut Meta Description Generator?
Scalenut Meta description generator can be found in the AI copywriter tools. This tool is designed for webmasters who wish to generate metatags for their blogs.
The tool is effective, easy to use, and saves your money as well by not wasting time on the manual process of copywriting.
Our handy tool will help you improve the performance of your website by generating a good meta description to attract your potential site visitors.
Head to Scalenut dashboard and find the AI copywriter tool.
- Search for the 'Meta description generator' and choose to generate the meta description.
- Enter the Topic of your content piece. Let's say the topic is- 5 Reasons to use AI in automotive industry.
- In the box below, enter the blog description. The blog description should be point to point and the key messages to convey.
- Make sure to add the keywords that you want to target.
- Click on 'Generate' to create a compelling meta description. You can generate more meta descriptions by clicking on 'Generate More'.
The generated output by Scalenut Meta Description generator would be different and unique each time you press on 'Generate More'.
Conclusion
Meta descriptions are a great way to help your content stand out from the crowd. By adding some simple text in the meta description, you can improve your search engine rankings and bring in more readers.
With that said, it's important to remember that they're just one piece of a larger strategy.
If you need compelling meta descriptions, you can use Scalenut AI Copywriter Meta Generator to create high-quality, keyword-rich meta data for your content instead.
FAQs
Q. How do I create a meta description?
A meta description should have the following characteristics:
- Keep the meta description length to a maximum of 155-160 characters
- Make it actionable by using active voice.
- Include a call-to-action in your message.
- Make use of the keyword that you've chosen as your focus.
- Make sure it's appropriate for the page of your website.
Q. What is recommended meta description length?
The recommended meta description length is 150-160 characters.
Q. Can we use SEO tools for generating meta description?
Yes, there are a number of SEO tools like Scalenut SEO Assistant, SEMRush Meta description generator to generate compelling meta descriptions.