So you've built a website, and spent hours upon hours creating the perfect content for your audience. You've put in the hard work, ensuring your website is visually appealing, user-friendly, and packed with valuable information. But what good is all that effort if your target audience never finds their way to your digital masterpiece? That's where meta descriptions come in鈥攁 vital element often overlooked but with lots of potential. These concise snippets of text play a crucial role in helping users notice your website among hundreds of others. In this article, we'll delve into the world of meta descriptions, what they are, how to write them, and how to easily apply them to your WMS sites.
What are meta descriptions?
According to聽, meta descriptions are tags that 鈥済enerally informs and interests users with a short, relevant summary of what a particular page is about鈥�. It is essentially your sales pitch to your target audience about why they should click into your site. Notice how under Google searches there鈥檚 usually a short description of what鈥檚 in the site? Here鈥檚 what shows up for the search 鈥満＝巧缜� courses鈥�:
Notice how the snippet of text under 鈥淐ourses and Programs" displays relevant information for someone looking for courses that 海角社区 has to offer (and how the keywords used in the search are highlighted in the snippet). Based on what鈥檚 in the meta description, Google will display it in the search snippet if it decides that it offers users a better description than it can scrape from the site content.
How to write a good meta description
Keep it under 160 characters
Stay under the 155-160 character limit, as anything longer than that will most likely be cut off by search engines such as Google. Make sure you put important information and actionable keywords towards the start of your description for better visibility.
Make it actionable
Use active language that isn鈥檛 too cryptic or confusing to the reader, and make sure to consider the motivations of your audience. Make sure people know what to expect when clicking into your page.
Use a call to action
Include text that encourages users to click into your site. Here's a few examples:
- Find out about 鈥�
- Browse the courses that 鈥�
- Learn about the requirements for 鈥�
Use keywords (in moderation!)
When words in the meta description match the search query of the user, search engines such as Google will be more inclined to use your meta description in the snippet, and it will also highlight the relevant words that match with the search keywords. Google will also sometimes highlight synonyms! However, make sure that it sounds like a human wrote it. If you stuff too many keywords inside like 鈥淏rowse courses, 海角社区 courses, Undergraduate courses, 海角社区 courses here!鈥�, it will sound very robotic and forced.
Example meta descriptions for the Web Services site
Here are a few examples of meta descriptions written for the聽Web Services site:
- Home page
- Get expert help with your website design, development, and maintenance at 海角社区. Learn more about our comprehensive web services today.
- Resources
- Enhance your web presence with 海角社区 Web Services' extensive collection of resources. Get the tools and knowledge you need to create a successful online platform.
- Training and Events
- Discover a range of training opportunities and events at 海角社区 Web Services. Enhance your knowledge in web development, accessibility, SEO, and more.
How to apply meta description changes to your WMS site
To update the meta tags on your WMS site as a site admin or manager, simply go to the 鈥渘ew/edit draft鈥� section and scroll down to find the 鈥淢eta tags鈥� menu item. Then replace the contents of the 鈥淒escription鈥� field to your new meta description. That鈥檚 it!
More resources
Looking to take your search optimization to the next level? Feel free to explore some the following resources to dive even deeper: