At we are going to scrutinize, explain and analyze one of the most basic SEO elements, but at the same time the most fundamental and that is most loved in the world: the meta description. It is undoubtedly the preferred element of those who cannot position first, but struggle to scratch clicks to the results that are above.
In these times we can find everything, even about optimizations of meta descriptions in very competitive niches, to others that are clearly not optimized or that waste the usefulness of this tag. Undoubtedly the copys for the meta descriptions are an art. The continuous experiments carried out by Google (such as expanding their size, although it later returned to the previous standard) are the best proof of the good health and importance of this html tag.
«– You have to invite me in.
– What if not? What if you just walk in?» (Låt den rätte komma in, Tomas Alfredson – 2008-)
What is the meta description?
Definition
The meta description is an html tag that, as its name suggests, is used to briefly describe the content of a specific page of a site. This tag must be declared, otherwise Google or any other search engine will choose another text on the page that will function as a meta description. As the Title or Title tag is one of the elements that search engines show in their search results with the intention of helping the user to know what they can expect on that page after doing a search and inciting their possible click.
Is the meta description a ranking factor?
Contrary to what many people believe (almost always outside the SEO world) . In other words, overoptimizing the meta description at the expense of introducing keywords is not going to make one page rank better than another for a Google search. The fact that it is not a “direct” positioning factor does not reduce its importance one iota, since it is a key factor for the CTR (Click Through Rate). The CTR is a positioning factor, so the optimization and integration of meta descriptions in an SEO strategy is essential. In addition, with the description we can be very creative and persuade the user to click on us to the detriment of results that are above.
Where is the meta description on a website?
It is essential to know what a meta description looks like and where we can find it within a website and even within a CMS (we will use the example of WordPress and Prestashop).
There are 2 different places where we can see the meta description:
In the Google Serps
in the source code
Analyze or scrape these contents () can be fundamental when doing a study of the competition and knowing how other SEOs are implementing the description. The “arms race” that is SEO can lead to discovering new implementation techniques that are eluding us.
How to optimize a meta description?
The meta description can be optimized in different ways, it is a tag that allows great creativity and is quite flexible if we compare it, for example, with the Title or with the json or schema microdata. Google allows several emojis to be included in it with which to give a more attractive appearance to the appearance of the result in the SERPs.
When optimizing a meta description we have to take into account some factors:
- Characters of the meta description: Google has a standard of 155 characters to 165, but these are guidelines for desktop. In mobile, the characters are usually adjusted to 130. In pixels (because we know that some characters take up more than others) the last directive is 920 for desktop and 680 for mobile.
- The device: as we have seen, a goal for desktop is not the same as for mobile. As the label is a guideline for Google but not an obligation, its extension can vary depending on the needs of the device or what Google decides for a specific type of search.
- The Keyword: entering the keyword within the meta description is usually common. Google marks in bold the elements of the meta description that coincide with the user’s search, so it is an element to take into account, since it gains visibility.
- Emojis: These are the most accepted emoticons in the Metadescriptions 【✓▷▼ⓇⓅ✗➞➛▷⓿❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽❾❿⓪①②③④⑤⑥⑦⑧⑨⑩❤♡☟☎☎©®??☎】
Optimization of the meta description by page typology
From online zebra we recommend paying attention to the type of web page or business intention of the same to optimize the tag. A meta description for a corporate page will not be the same as for a category page of an ecommerce or a post. Let’s give an example and give the steps to follow for each of them:
- Corporate page: The meta description should be a brief summary of the page. Including the keyword always «We are an agency specialized in Google Ads ✅ and SEO ✅. We offer global services in digital marketing (Amazon, SMM, CRO) for companies«. Some emojis that attract attention can be included. These emojis have to express something related to the word they accompany or replace.
- Category page or product sheet (in an Ecommerce): We will include the keyword in the copy, a call to action and a summary of the advantages of the products or services. «LOreal Pro Fiber cheap and online ✅ at Beauty Hair. Fast shipping ⌚ Secure payment ✅ The lowest price on the market ⇩ «
- Post: The meta description for a post must be completely informative and persuade the user to want to read what is developed in the post. Do not conclude or give the final answer in the meta description, use some technique to encourage the click. «Mountain tops are the furthest point on Earth from the surface. Do you want to know which are the highest mountains in the world and how far they rise?«
Meta description in WordPress (With Yoast SEO)
Meta description in Prestashop
Main problems with meta descriptions
Duplicate meta descriptions: It is very common in large websites that meta descriptions are defined by rules and each page that is created adds an identical description to other pages. The same thing happens in the pages, categories and tags of the blog. It is highly recommended to solve this problem by defining meta descriptions for the main business pages. Unique meta description written expressly to attract users to that specific page.
Undeclared meta description: This is another common error or problem. When we do not implement the metadescription, Google or any search engine will choose what content to show in its results, so it can be counterproductive. We have all seen some pages without declaring the meta description in which Google takes the privacy policy or cookies And we do not want that!
Conclusions
We can conclude without a doubt that the html meta description tag is essential for the SEO strategy. It improves the CTR and indirectly in the positioning. In addition, it allows you to be very creative and persuade the user to click or have enough information to know what is displayed on the page that appears in Google results. Long live the meta description! We await your comments or contributions.
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