metaThe meta description is often a spurned SEO element. Wrongly, because at least indirectly, it is quite a ranking factor. Often enough, Google has stressed that the meta description - like meta keywords - is not a factor in Google’s ranking algorithm, but although there is no direct impact, the click-through rate is, kind of.

The discovery that user signals have a positive effect on the ranking of an article makes it important that the items in the search is clicked on. And here the meta description comes into play, which is next to the title the key element of why the user clicks on a link - or not.

In a nutshell, bad meta descriptions hurt the ranking, while good ones can be of use for the ranking, as it is with every ranking factor. However, the problem with the meta description is that besides the maximum length, there are no precise instructions, no panacea. It must be quite simple and respond to the user - and help with a search phrase. Another problem is that the meta description is not always displayed. Only if Google deems the search query a fit, the description will be integrated. To make sure that Google displays the meta description in most cases, it should contain at least one word of the potentially most frequently asked search phrase.

How to write the perfect meta description:

Highlight functionality: Never forget the central task of a meta description, which is describing what the user needs to know as accurately as possible. State what awaits him on the other side of the link after reading the meta description, thereby it is important to provide more than the title. The job of the meta description is to repeat by no means only what is in the headline.

Reading incentive and curiosity: A really good meta description is like a good headline, which means it motivates the reader to click, and includes a call to action. This can be a cliffhanger, the promise of a unique knowledge or a simple question, whose answer is just a click away. There are many ways to arouse curiosity. Enjoy to experiment!

Pin your hope on the right words and the right language: It is recommended to use the right keywords In the meta description for a good ranking, for two reasons: First, it comes across as trusty when a user reads thematically appropriate terms in the meta description, showing that the subject is treated here in a certain amplitude, which other products do not offer. In addition, words in the meta description, which are also found in the search phrase, are getting more attention. The meta description is not a place for involved periods, therefore, put your subject short and crisp in a nutshell and use to do so succinct verbs as possible. Other language requirements you need to fix on the theme and the target group.

Consider technical limitations: Meta descriptions with a length of 155 characters are not usually displayed, rather only in exceptional cases. In contrast to the title, it is not about the pixel width regarding the meta description. Besides, do not use quotation marks, because Google isn’t displaying them in the meta description.

By MediaBUZZ