When you have a web page, the main objective you set for yourself is that it has more and more visitors. To do this, you study about web positioning, about SEO, you place the most famous plugins and you are very careful both in the title and in the words that are going to define your first lines. These can be defined in the meta description, that is, a paragraph that offers a summary of what the reader is going to find in the article.
Many consider that this is not as important as putting a good title, or an image that impacts. But experts know that this is not the case. The meta description can be the “wick” that ignites the clicks on your post. And, if you manage to capture readers with that little bit, the most normal thing is that they click on the article and read it, which implies that they visit your website. Now, how do you get the perfect meta description? We will tell you.
Wait ... what is the meta description?
Before talking about the keys to achieving a meta description that gives you a greater opportunity to visit your website, or your eCommerce, it is important that you take something into account: what are we referring to?
A meta description is a small text, of about 160 characters, that would summarize the content that a user is going to find on a web page. In other words, it is a way of engaging users. These, when conducting an Internet search, obtain a list of pages where the information they need may be. And instead of going one after another, by reading that little text they should get an idea of what they are going to find.
This text is not just for blog articles; neither for the products of an online store. Actually, it is also important for any page that is created on a website, be it the contact page, the home page, who we are ...
This aspect is often not taken care of, and yet it is very important, not only to offer an overview of what the user is going to find, but because it helps Google to know what is on the page.
Also, if we combine it with a good SEO and keyword strategy, The meta description can open many doors for us and make it easier for you to position your website.
What must a meta-description have to be perfect
Now that you know exactly what we are referring to, it is time to find out what are the necessary characteristics for this to be perfect for not only search engines, but also users themselves.
To start, you should know that a meta description can only contain 160 characters. In fact, in some cases it is recommended that you do not reach that, but stay at 156 at the most. In addition, in this small text (which is usually approximately 20-30 words), you must enter the word or keywords that you have chosen for that page, article ... For example, if the page is from an online store where you sell "electric scooters", this could be the keyword that should be in that little text.
A little expert trick is use the keyword twice. When a user searches for that word, the fact that it appears twice in the same text causes the human eye to attract attention. It is a psychological technique that can help you.
The meta description should never be written for Google robots. That is to say, it cannot be unnatural, or looking for positioning only and exclusively. You need it to be unique, written naturally, and well understood.
The keys for your meta description to enchant search engines
You know what it is, you know its characteristics. Now, let's get to the really important thing: what should you look for when making a meta description for your website, eCommerce, blog, article ...?
Specifically, we recommend these keys:
The wording of the meta description
We are not going to repeat what we have told you before, but we are going to emphasize some aspects that you should take into account:
- Never capitalize all that text. On the Internet, writing in capital letters means that you are yelling, or angry, and there may be misinterpretations in what you want to put, or that it is taken in a sense that, not at all, was what you intended.
- Don't capitalize some words either, as if you wanted to highlight them. All that does is confuse people.
- Goodbye quotes. Quotation marks are useless for a search engine. Not only that, they can backfire, so try to avoid them whenever possible.
Don't duplicate meta descriptions
Suppose you have two products that are the same, but only the color differs. And you say: well, same product, same meta description. NOT! Big mistake. The experts themselves alert us that the content repeated, copied, plagiarized… On the Internet it makes Google start a siren and, do you know what to do ?, penalize your website.
So always try to give unique content to any website you have, to any article you make and to any product in your online store.
Bet on the words "gold"
Haven't you heard of them? There are many names to refer to them, but being "made of gold" is because they are words that "move" people. For example: Seduce, learn, discover, imagine ... All of them are actions that you ask a reader indirectly, and yet they work very well because the brain itself is activated.
So using them in meta descriptions is a good trick to grasp.
Avoid the traps, they will not benefit you
Maybe you can think that the meta description, because it is something important for search engines, should be focused on them, and you start putting filler words with the keywords and little else. But that is going to take its toll on you in the long run. First because Google's algorithm is already able to "understand" what is written, and if it sees that you do not give it a natural sense, it can end up throwing you back in the search engine results.
The perfect formula for a meta description
To finish, we want to leave you below what would be the perfect formula for a meta description. You have to bear in mind that it has to go according to the title, since the combo of both is what will augur your visits.
Specifically, for the meta description you must:
- Repeat the keyword 2 times.
- Start with a powerful word, one of "gold." Usually these are action verbs that are the ones that “move”.
- Present a problem that they have and with which they can be reflected.
- Give an answer to that problem.
If you can do that, then you will have won a battle.