Importance of META Description in SEO
October 29, 2015 0 comments
When you are trying to fine-tune the on-page SEO measures for your website, there are a number of things that you need to address. All these different on-page SEO elements combine to decide the fate of your website in the long term when it comes to search engine crawl-ability, and every detail needs to be meticulously checked and accounted for. Meta Description tags are sometimes neglected by site owners, but these tags are especially important if you want your website to be effective .
When you search for something on Google, the results are formatted to first show you the page title or TITLE tag, and then a short description of what to expect at that particular link. This is the Meta Description tag and its importance is obvious – it gives you a chance to tell visitors a little more detail than is possible in a short TITLE tag the intent and purpose of your web page, and what they can expect to find there. Having a well-written Meta Description tag can clinch the issue in your favor, drawing the interest of visitors and convincing them to enter your website.
Some Finer Points
Meta Description tags can be difficult to craft to perfection, but since their importance towards SEO and conversion is significant, here are few points you might want to consider before starting to develop them.
- Meta Description tags are a great way of telling your audience about your website in a nutshell, which is something you cannot do within the 65-70 characters you get for your title. Ideally, descriptions can be in the vicinity of 155 characters, giving you a bit more room to talk about your website.
- The tag is supposed to be a concise description of the functioning of the particular web page it points to and should be reader-friendly and engaging to really ensure effectiveness.
- The Meta Description tag was once used as one of the factors that influence search rankings. Over time, most major search engines have stopped considering this tag as a ranking factor.
- While not a ranking factor, your Description tag should still contain some relevant keywords that you want to rank for. Although not a direct influence towards ranking, the presence of these keywords can bolster their use in the overall page content and can help establish relevance better.
- A Must-Have for Better Conversions
If you are disappointed to know that Meta Description tags will not do much for your ranking, they are nevertheless very important if you want conversions. While your listing appears on search engine result pages, many human users who get interested by your page title take the time to skim through your site description, and this is often which decides if they go on to visit your page or not. A properly written Description tag can help bring a lot more people to your website and contribute towards its general success. For this reason, it pays to pay attention to your Meta Description tags. - Do write to us in case you need to get your on page SEO to appeal to the search engines. We at Macronimous will be happy to help.
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