Are you putting enough thought into your meta description tags? If not, you’re missing out. Yes, your meta description tag should describe your post but many companies and websites will go well beyond that to carefully craft descriptions that can massively increase their click-through rate from search engines[1].
You can do the same. We’re going to take a look at nine types of meta descriptions that can help you get more clicks.
For each, I’ll walk you through an example, showing you what’s working well with that meta description tag and what it could potentially be doing better.
You don’t have to pick just one of these methods to use. You might want to focus on a particular angle, like writing a meta description tag that’s “call-to-action” focused but add in something else too like power words or a USP.
Here are nine different ways you can approach meta description[2] tags:
1. Clarity focused
Meta description tags should be clear, letting the searcher know what they’re going to get. After all, if you confuse people, they’re not going to click through.
What works well
This description takes a “what it says on the tin” approach in describing the website. It’s very clear about who the target audience is – “nerds and average Joes” rather than, for instance, hardcore bodybuilders. It also clearly and succinctly explains the benefits the site can provide for the searcher with the description line, “lose weight, get stronger, live better”.
Room for improvement
The title tag and meta description are repetitive. The second part of the title tag (after the colon) is the same as the second sentence in the meta