The Role of Meta Descriptions in Enhancing Click-Through Rates
160 characters is all you get to make an impression with a meta description. These few characters can be the difference between gaining a new lead or losing a potential customer.
Meta descriptions are short snippets of text, no more than 160 characters long. The amount of characters is variable and Google does tend to adjust them now and then. This description is responsible for providing search engines and potential website visitors with a summary on what your website content is about.
The meta description is visible just below your web page title in search results. Google states it does not use meta descriptions in its ranking algorithm, yet them remain essential for any successful SEO strategy.
Meta descriptions play a vital role with the ability to indirectly improve your ranking when used effectively, as they can improve your click through rate (CTR). A high click through rate improves you ranking, as Google does factor CTR into their ranking algorithm.
As you can see meta descriptions are important and you will want to use them correctly to boost CTR and increase traffic to your website:
Every page on your website should have a unique meta description. Never reuse your meta descriptions. If your pages don't have unique descriptions you reduce the pages impact. It is also important to remember rather than copying and pasting a meta description from another page, rather leave the field blank. Google automatically generates a meta description for you, using the first few sentences of your website text. If you want the most impact, then you will want to write unique and exact meta descriptions.
Meta descriptions should always provide clear instructions. Call to actions (CTAs) such as “Get a Quote Now,” or “Learn More” provide the user with clear instructions on what they need to do.
Adding structured data to your website is an important step to any successful SEO strategy. Google turns your standard description into a rich snippet, a line of text between the page title and meta description. Rich snippets provide valuable information, such as business hours, ratings, prices, and more.
An effective meta description will include your targeted keyword, helping your website stand out and drive clicks.
Use the first sixty characters to provide the most relevant information regarding your web page. This includes your targeted keywords and vital information, followed by call to actions.
Google is the leading search engine providing the most relevant results. Google holds more than 90% of the search engine market share and they work hard to ensure that its users receive the most accurate and relevant information based on their search query. If your meta description is misleading, designed to bait users into clicking the links, Google will penalise you. Accuracy is essential when it comes to writing an engaging and eye catching meta description.
Meta descriptions are a valuable opportunity to secure more website traffic, increasing your CTR and your ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). If you need assistance in the creation of quality meta descriptions for your website, contact the expert SEO team at Genie Crawl today and see how we can assist at a fair price.
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