Blog Post

How to Write a Meta Description That Will Draw Your Audience In

by: Austin Mahaffey May 29, 2018

Table of Contents

The lights dim, the music starts up, and a hush falls over the theater—it’s time for the movie previews. This is where upcoming blockbuster hits try to dazzle and wow the audience with promises of epic adventures, laugh-out-loud comedies, or dramatic love stories. The previews show the very best of the movie without trying to give too much away—they are a hint at bigger and better things to come.

While not as glamorous as a movie preview, the meta description on your page is doing a similar job. Depending on what your audience sees within your meta description, this copy can make or break your audience’s interest and engagement levels. So, naturally, it’s essential to craft stellar meta descriptions that will leave your audience on the edge of their seats, begging for more.

But, first things first…

What Is A Meta Description?

When details about your website show up in search results, a meta description—which includes a short summary of information right below the link of each result—is one of the first thing your audience will see. It’s essentially a brand ambassador for your website.

Since your meta description is generally what attracts leads, it needs to be as descriptive as possible. Unfortunately, many brands are unfamiliar with or neglect the power behind creating a good meta description, and it can be costly.

So, let’s take a look at the main components that go into writing a stand-out meta description that will attract new leads, increase click-through rates, and make your content more engaging and shareable.

Keep It Short And Sweet

If you’ve ever taken a look at a meta description, you’ll notice it’s not very long. This is because most search engines cut off the description once it reaches a certain length. Experts advise keeping this copy under 160 characters so that you don’t risk the chance of losing too much information. If you can’t stay under 160 characters, then put the most important words at the beginning of the copy.

Create Copy That’s, Powerful, Eye-Catching, And Unique

Even though your meta description may be short, it needs to be written in a thought-provoking manner. You want your content viewed in the best possible light, showcasing what sets it apart from any other content.

Try to lead in with a question, or perhaps, something witty, conversational or thought-provoking. If you can make potential leads feel like they already know you or that you’re a highly-valuable, reliable resource, they’re more inclined to click through to your page.

Sell Yourself

Your meta description is basically an advert and a chance to sell your brand to a potential lead. Write something that is appealing, benefit-driven, relevant, and entices the reader to want to learn more about the product or service you provide. Since meta descriptions are encouraged to be short, it’s also important that the information you is concise, yet engaging.

Use A Call-To-Action

Your call-to-action is what drives users to click on your page, therefore, using a good action-driven phrase is an essential component to your meta description. Because call-to-actions are often a hot button (pun intended) aspect of the campaign, you’ll want to pay attention to the words and phrases that you’re using. The wrong words can actually discourage people from clicking through to your content.

Invite users to your page by using prompts like, “learn more,” “contact us,” or “call now.” You’ll also want to avoid using words and phrases like, “submit,” “sign up,” “download now,” or any others that may be asking for personal information or feel like a chore to complete.

Optimize With Relevant Keywords

While your meta description is not a direct ranking factor it can have a large impact on your SEO due to the fact that it affects click-through-rate, which is a ranking factor. Make sure you stay away from keyword stuffing or using keywords out of context.

The worst thing you can do is mislead potential customers. Not only can this damage your brand’s reputation, it’ll also make you look like an unreliable source.

Focus On The Customer’s Needs

One of the main reasons users search for and click on content is because they’re looking to solve a problem. Your meta description gives your brand the chance to be an advocate on behalf of a solution. Write to the customer needs and provide an answer to what they are looking.

Stay Away From Duplication

It’s never ok to use the same meta description for multiple pages, and some search engines will even penalize you if you do so. Each meta description should be original and unique as it pertains to the content. Duplications can make your content appear spammy, which can be off-putting to your audience.

Wrapping Up

While you may not be producing the next big blockbuster hit, you should certainly pretend you are while writing your meta description. This is the copy that will persuade your audience to come and check out the big show, so it’s vital to write something that is both clear and engaging. The above tips can help you craft a description that may result in an increase of traffic to your site.