Good SEO is now a requirement for any business that is looking to stay competitive in the long run. This may sound intimidating to some, but it doesn’t have to be. Mastering the basics of SEO can take time, but with some practice and know-how, you can have the foundation of what you need to be up and running in no time. One of the most important fundamentals that companies need to be familiar with is a meta description. Using just this element can be a huge boost to your page rankings and overall conversion rates.
At the most basic level, SEO meta descriptions are the short amount of text that appears in the HTML of a page that describes content. These descriptions (also known as snippets), are not auto generated and it is up to a developer or writer to fill in this information manually.
Meta descriptions can be added in the <head> section of your HTML or using the generator tools available through a WordPress plugin like Yoast. Descriptions are typically 130-160 characters long, and it’s a good idea to include primary and secondary keywords into your copy. Most important is making sure that each description gives potential customers a good idea of what each page actually contains. Attractive, grabbing descriptions will draw people in while bland descriptions may keep someone from going to your site.
It is important to remember that meta descriptions do not explicitly affect Google page rankings, but they do have a huge influence on CTR. For the best results in this realm, it is recommended that all of your site’s pages included dedicated meta descriptions. This can be a time consuming process as you don’t want to simply reuse previous descriptions, but it is the best way to ensure that your site has the best foundation possible.
At JAS, we specialize in SEO meta descriptions and other similar elements. If you or your business is in need of help or clarification, please feel free to reach out to us and we can set up a consultation.