The Meta Tag Description (How To Write Your Sales Pitch)
What is the Meta Description Tag?
The Meta description tag can be found or inserted into the head section in any HTML page, below is an example of a Meta description tag.
<meta name=”description” content=”Describe Your Page Here” />
This description will appear in the search engine results page (SERPs) under your title tag link. Although the Meta description tag is not used by the major search engines for ranking purposes, having the option to write a sales pitch which users will see in the search engine results page gives you a great opportunity to attract visitors.
Meta Description Length
It is generally accepted that your Meta description length should be between 180 to 252 characters, but this does vary on different search engines.
When I write page descriptions, I tend to keep Google in mind, as should you. Google only seems to index around 150 to 155 characters of your page description. If you exceed that length Google will chop off any excess characters and replace them with a space and three dots.
With that in mind I like to keep my page description within the 150 character length, then I can write a description that won’t be interrupted by Google and I believe this makes for a better sales pitch.
How should I write my Meta Description?
It is hard writing a page description with limited space, but when your page description is done properly you will see the difference. When writing your page descriptions you should always keep in mind what the user is thinking, and what will make them click on the link to your website.
You should mention two of your main keywords within the description as these will be bolded on some search engines such as Google, giving your description some emphasis.
You should try and mention what services, products or information your webpage can offer to the user. I will try and give you an example of good page description below:
Target Keywords: SEO Services, Search Engine Optimization
Description: Generate new customers from the internet with our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Package. We provide SEO services at very competitive prices.
Positive points about the description:
- The length of the description above is 143 characters long, which means there will be no cut off point on the Google results page.
- I am telling the user a benefit for using our search engine optimization package by mentioning that it will generate new customers to their business.
- I have also mentioned that our prices are very competitive so the user will know they will get a fair deal.
The above example is just an example, but you get the idea. You need to promote your services and say what the benefits are for using them, but also mention one or two of your keywords or as many as you can fit into a 150 character description without just listing your keywords.
If you follow these simple guidelines you will find more users will click on your listing as opposed to your competitors.
Remember, keep it short and sweet!
