Google has published a help document, on the , which aims to be useful for all those interested in boosting the positioning of their websites. These are not great advanced tips, but they are keys that it is important to take into account to take advantage of those featured snippets to attract more clicks and traffic to our pages.
The role of snippets in search results
First of all, let’s remember that a snippet or fragment is a short description or summary displayed in a Google search result. To create them, Google is based directly on the content published on the pages and information from the meta description, to show a preview of the content of said page, according to the search that the user is doing. This is why, in some cases, depending on the information being sought, Google may display different pieces of information from the same page.
How to create the best meta descriptions
Let’s review some of Google’s top tips in this field:
1. Specific details
Let’s take the case of an eCommerce: you must briefly explain what the online store sells and give essential details such as hours, location and, if necessary, shipping policies. Example: “You can get whatever you want to sew the best clothes. We open every day from 7 to 4 pm.”
2. Specific snippet for each article
In the case of news from a communication medium, where each article is different, a unique description must be made for each one that offers relevant information, the effort is almost minimal. Example: “Amazon has announced that it will launch a new subscription format that will replace Amazon Prime. We give you all the details”.
3. Page Summary
Even if you have a very long page, with very extensive content, it is always possible make a concrete summary of the page content. Example for a cooking website: “If you want to learn how to cook all varieties of eggs, you can do it with this complete guide in a short time. We teach you all the methods: very easy, crashed, boiled and poached”.
4. Details
When you sell online, it is necessary that the products are described with the more details possible that, in addition to giving the buyer more confidence, will make your meta description more relevant.
Example: “Calligraphy correction mechanical pencil. Includes 2B recharging cable. Available colors Vintage Pink and SchoolBus Yellow. If you buy more than 50 pencils, shipping is free.
What you should avoid
The most important thing about meta descriptions is that they have concise and accurate information about what can be found within the page. Therefore you should avoid doing some things and pay attention to certain details.
List of keywords without any order
While it is true that it is important to have some keywords within the meta description, these words must be strung together in a coherent and meaningful paragraph. Avoid doing one at all costs. long ready of keywords that really doesn’t give clear information about the content of the page.
Example: “sewing items, sewing machines, bobbins, buttons, needles”.
Generic description for each news article
As we said before, when writing each news article, it is very easy to make a specific meta description for each note, where you can also offer interactions with your audience.
Example: “Local news from Madrid. Find out everything that happens today”.
Very long or short meta descriptions
The goal of meta descriptions is to provide a more precise description of the content of the pages, so a very long summary can not only be tedious, but it can be taken by Google search engines as spam and end up being ignored by them. Ideally, the meta description should not exceed 160 characters.
On the other hand, very short meta descriptions are not attractive to readers. Example, “Mechanical pencil”.
If you want to prevent the meta description from being generated and some snippet of your site from being displayed in the search results you can use the tag “nosnippet”. In case you want to adjust the length, use the meta tag “max-snippet:”. It is also possible to prevent certain parts of the page from being displayed in a fragment using the attribute “data nosnippet”.
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