How to Write The Best Meta Description: Outrank Your Competitors with Effective Meta Descriptions and Meta Titles
When writing blog posts or any other online content, gaining visibility among potential readers is crucial. To maximize reach, compelling meta descriptions and meta titles appeal to the human side of search. These concise snippets of text appear alongside your blog post title on search engine results pages (SERPs), offering a preview of your content and enticing readers to click through.
The trick is writing a meta description Google and other search engines like is drafting one that makes readers want to click into your content.
What is a Meta Description?
A meta description is a brief 160-character text snippet that accompanies your blog post title on SERPs. It serves as a preview of your content, providing potential readers with an overview and encouraging them to click through to your blog post.
To the right, you'll see a screenshot of a meta description for the homepage of this site. While the meta description isn't exactly appealing, it does still tell you what the page is about. Throughout this article, we'll optimize this screenshot and create something much more interesting.
What is a Meta Title?
A meta title is the title of your blog post that appears on SERPs. It is vital to ensure that your meta title is clear, concise, and relevant to the content you provide.
In the screenshot above, the Meta Title I'm using for my homepage is simply "Smart SEO Beginner" - it's accurate, but not compelling. Most home pages tend to follow this since they're relying on brand authority, so I won't change this much, but for blogs and other high-value pages, I'll want to make sure this reflects:
- What the page is about
- What a user can expect to see once they click through
- Authority of the site to speak to content about this subject
- A combination of all of the above makes this result more interesting and convincing that the rest of the search results.
How to Write a Good Meta Description and Meta Title
To write compelling meta descriptions and meta titles for your blog posts, consider the following:
Relevance to Content:
Your meta description and meta title must align with the content of your blog post. This allows potential readers to determine whether your post addresses their interests or needs.
This also prevents the static and disappointment that comes with having unfulfilled expectations for users. No one wants to be misled or lied to - trying to trick people with your meta description and title will only cause harm to your reputation.
Search engines also use something called semantic search as AI and machine learning become more sophisticated. This means that most search engines have a rough understanding of what terms are related and relevant. A disconnect between your "preview" and actual on-page content will decrease the technology and human likelihood of finding your content important and relevant.
Keep Your Meta Concise
Since meta descriptions and meta titles have a character limit of 160, it's crucial to keep them concise. This ensures that they are fully displayed on SERPs, catching the attention of readers.
Beyond this, if your content has a branded trailer (often depicted with | [Brand]), that counts towards your character limit, so be mindful that using the full 160 characters is often not wise. Finding an intermediate amount that sufficiently explains the contents of your page in less characters but doesn't populate filler to get the point across is actually a better experience.
While there are many character counter tools out there, I personally like to use Word Counter.net since it's free, and if I accidentally close out my tabs or re-start my computer, it typically remembers where I left off. It also helps to review your meta description in an isolated environment, where you're not tempted by the actual content or distracted.
Please - Please - Please - Utilize Keywords
Incorporating relevant keywords into your meta description and meta title isn't just speaking to search engines, it's meeting your ideal reader where they're at.
While this optimization tactic can help your page or post rank higher in search engine results, it has been slowly de-prioritized as a robot ranking factor.
That being said, when the meta details for a page match the search term, they can show up higher on the SERP and increase content visibility. However, it's really about the human experience: there's a reason why users are searching for this term, and it makes sense to meet them halfway on their journey, rather than be buried in similar, but not-quite-right terms.
Create an Enticing Meta Description Hook
Okay - we've covered the mechanics and why - now for actual writing.
This is the big one.
AI suggested I use this as copy:
Craft a compelling meta description and meta title that entices readers to click through to your blog post. Employ persuasive language and highlight the benefits or unique aspects of your content.
Hardly compelling in itself. To really make your meta description and title sing, think about what would make you want to click. Is there a product feature or benefit that you are teasing or claiming? Is it a one-time offer?
Come back to what your original goal or thesis is for that page.
Then, treat it like a headline. Pretend you're selling newspapers with your meta description.
The meta description in itself is a misnomer - you're not describing the page, you're selling the page's experience in a crowded market.
My original meta description for the homepage is
Smart SEO Beginner is for those who oversee, but don't directly use SEO or organic metrics for tested, but easily implementable solutions.
138 characters, and honestly, pretty lackluster. It's specific but excludes a lot of people. I honestly don't remember what I was thinking when I wrote it. Let's translate it into something compelling - what would motivate people to learn more, to click through? What value do I add to their experience?
Ready to start ranking like a pro? Everyone starts somewhere and Smart SEO Beginner is your launching pad to content that converts and ranks.
142 characters. Better? Definitely. Just like any writing class, the hook isn't about me, the writer, it's about the value I provide to the searcher. However, this still needs some work. The hook is there, but then what?
Next is to make sure that we have an action - a meta description is a call-to-action or CTA that you want to use to get people on page. By creating a direct action in the meta description, you eliminate ambiguity and connect the hook to a possible solution.
Ready to start ranking like a pro? Read tips and tricks on Smart SEO Beginner for easy SEO strategies that launch content to rank in SERPs.
Since this is the home page, the CTA is much more vague, but calls for my desired reaction: getting someone on the page to read more easy-to-implement SEO strategies - much like this one about writing a strong meta description! (Sorry, shameless plug!)
Go Forth
To create a great entry for your content, you need a beautiful door.
Your meta description and meta title are exactly that. Once large ranking factors, they've been shrunk down for technology scans and scrapes, but the impact they have on human readers remains, especially as more content is published every day.
By blending best writing practices for uniform experiences and character counts that don't drop essential pieces, but still inform, your meta details can inform, inspire and educate before you even have an on-page click.
Still need some help? Let me know by filling out the contact form linked below. You can also check out my FREE content brief to start with long-form blogs.
-Brian
About the Author
Brian is an active digital marketer, working across SEO, CRO, and UX to create comprehensively intuitive digital experiences. Currently working at Egencia, an American Express Global Business Travel company, Brian has also worked at City Experiences (formerly Hornblower Cruises and Entertainment Cruises) and Groupon.
His portfolio can be found at https://www.walshtbrian.com