Building your audience from scratch is hard.
On the one hand, you have to post regularly.
On the other side, you need to contact different influencers and high-authority blogs in your niche so you can access a wider audience.
But what if we told you there’s a way your articles can get more exposure on the Internet without you having to do all that work?
Optimizing your website for Google’s search engine can put you in front of your competition!
Finding the perfect meta title & meta description for SEO purposes is crucial when you publish an article.
Both sections are important since they show your readers what your article is about.
Moreover, if they are written and indexed correctly, that alone can increase your click-through rate and drive more traffic to your website.
So let’s dig in and see how you can improve your meta description & meta title SEO!
So, What Is A Meta Title?
Otherwise known as the title tag, the meta title lets people know what your article is about. At the same time, it gives Google various details about the respective web page.
When it comes to an HTML page though, you need to integrate the meta title as a tag in the <head> section of the file.
A common practice widely appreciated by SEO specialists is to keep your meta tags short and informative.
What About Meta Description?
As you can see, the meta description is a small and accurate statement about your article.
You can either personalize it with a WordPress plug-in such as Yoast, or you can leave it empty.
However, if you decide to leave this section blank, Google will fill in the meta description on the search results page with the first part of your article.
And not having a meta description is a common rookie mistake, so avoid it at all costs.
Having an optimized meta description and meta title helps search engines index your page faster.
Hence, Google will recommend your business to more people, and they’ll land on your website.
And this is the perfect reason why you should put some effort into crafting your own unique, captivating meta description instead of letting Google fill it in for you.
How Do You Check Your Meta Title & Description?
If there are any posts on your blog that have an automated meta description, don’t worry! All you have to know is how to change WordPress meta description into a better one.
It’s so easy it can be done in just a few seconds! By using Yoast’s plugin, you can fill in the SEO Title and Meta Description fields and write what you like to see in the Google snippet.
But how do you know which pages have a customized meta title and description?
Here are a few ways in which you can do that:
1. Google Search Bar
One of the easiest and shortest ways to do it. In the Google browser you type in the search bar any keyword that will lead to the post.
After hitting the Search button, Google will show your posts or your blog, and you can check what meta title and description your visitors see when they land on your post.
2. View Page Source
This one is another quick and easy way to check if your website has the right meta tags!
All you have to do is to right-click anywhere on the website and then pick “View Page Source”. As soon as you do, another tab or pop-up will open in your browser. From there, you can check your tags right at the top of the page.
3. SEMRush Audit Tool
Once you log into your SEMRush account, you can select the option Site Audit. After that, you’ll see all the problems your website might have.
If there are any duplicate or missing meta tags, you can change them immediately so your website will be properly optimized for Google search engines and your customers.
These are the most popular choices, but they are not the only ones. It’s up to you to try and see what tools and platforms will work best for you.
What Does a Perfectly Optimized Meta Title & Meta Description Look Like?
When a reader finds you in the search results, whether or not they’ll visit your site depends on how good your meta title and your meta description are.
And this is what well-written, optimized elements do – drive more traffic to your website and improve your brand’s popularity and credibility. If your meta tags are not engaging enough, people won’t be tempted to visit your domain, and they might go on a competitor’s website instead.
So, what do you need to know to write the perfect meta title and description for every web page and blog post that you create?
Here is an in-depth list of the most important tips!
1. Use Proper Meta Length
First of all, know the proper meta length. Specialists have different opinions about this, so we’ll talk more about it in a few seconds.
For now, keep in mind that:
Your meta title should be anywhere between 50-60 characters.
And the meta description should be around 150-160 characters.
In short, keep your meta title and description accurate and informative!
2. Use The Active Voice
When you write your meta titles and descriptions, remember to use the active voice, instead of the passive voice.
This way, your text is easier to understand and the readers know what expectations you have from them.
If your sentences use too much passive voice, the message is unclear and the readers will perceive your text as wordy, spammy, and they won’t click on your link.
3. Include A Call-to-Action
Another good strategy is to include a call-to-action in your meta description. Although it might seem ineffective and unnecessary, it’s actually the other way around.
A CTA gives your readers a clear message, guiding them through the next steps without any confusion.
4. Use Your Focus Keyword
The next factor for having a well-written meta description and meta title SEO is considered vital by Yoast.
Put your main keyword in the meta description and title!
By doing so, any time a visitor types that focus keyword, Google will highlight it in the search results pages. Therefore, people are more likely to visit your page when they see that your website contains exactly the words they are interested in.
5. Show Specifications Wherever You Can
Another thing you should consider is to insert specifications whenever possible.
If your product’s main selling point is having some specific technical specs, make sure you use them. Not every customer that lands on your page needs to learn the basics.
Some of them have already done their research and now they’re looking for the perfect solution.
And since these clients are interested in the tech specs only, you can help them out by offering the information they seek!
6. Your Meta Title and Description Must Match Your Website’s Content
No one interested in a certain topic likes to be redirected to a website that talks about something completely different.
So, make sure your meta titles and meta descriptions match the content of the page.
When people see that your article is not related to your meta tags, they will leave the page – thus, it will increase your website’s bounce rate.
Because of this, search engines will think that your content is low-quality so your SEO score will drop considerably.
7. Use Clear & Interesting Copywriting
Try as much as possible to write legible and readable copy. You might think that people who are interested in your niche already know the standard business jargon and understand everything you’re telling them. But, it might come as a shock to you that this is not always true. And for these situations, the ELI5 (“Explain Like I’m 5”) principle exists.
After all, no matter how simple a product or a service might seem to you, some people won’t understand what it does. So, make your meta titles and descriptions as clear and accurate as possible.
8. Say No To Duplicate Content
Sometimes, being original 100% of the time is hard, so you might be tempted to “borrow” some ideas from someone else.
You might think it’s a good idea because no one will notice, but the truth is that someone will always see it.
People tend to remember good copy.
When someone discovers you’ve stolen an idea, everyone will find out eventually, and that will ruin your credibility.
And even if no one will spot it, Google will. Usually, it’s just a matter of time until search engines will index your content as duplicate, spam, or low-quality and your entire website gets penalized.
One of the best solutions to avoid this problem is to use an SEO audit tool for your website or hire a specialized SEO agency.
9. Think About What Makes Your Business And Use That To Your Advantage
Also, take advantage of your brand and see what’s that special thing that makes your business unique.
With proper keyword research, you can see who your competitors are, and publish some SEO content relevant to your niche to improve your rankings.
10. Potential Customers Don’t Like When You’re Being Too Pushy
Last in order but not in importance, try to avoid being too salesy. People tend to buy only if they trust the brand. When you try too hard, your tone might come off as unnatural, and people might doubt your intentions or the credibility of your website. Combine all of this with excellent SEO on page and you’ll reach a wider audience.
Why Is the Meta Title & Meta Description Important for SEO?
First and foremost, the right meta tags will make your site easier to find on the Internet.
Google will show your brand to anyone interested in a business that’s similar to yours and uses certain keywords.
Thus, having a compelling meta tag will drive more traffic to your website and will boost your brand’s online visibility.
Secondly, having an interesting meta tag will determine if your visitors will click on your links or not. There are high chances that when visitors see a generic and boring meta title, they won’t bother to read the whole post.
Last but not least, the meta tag appears in 3 important places:
In the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP)
In the Tab of the Web Browsers
On Social Networks
No matter how you look at it, personalizing your meta tags for every article is going to benefit you in the long run.
Not only will your readers be interested in reading your posts, but SEO will also boost your Google ranking. So it’s a win-win situation.
Is Your Meta Title & Meta Description A Ranking Signal?
SERP SEO is crucial for improving your website’s ranking.
However, there are some controversial beliefs when it comes to meta title and meta description for SEO.
Although Google’s specialists claim that having an optimized meta title and description doesn’t improve your website’s ranking per se, things are not always black and white.
From some perspective, that’s true.
Just think about it – if you have a very popular local business, all you need to need your products online is a website.
Customers already know your brand, they trust your services, and they are satisfied with the results. Even if you don’t optimize your website or your blog posts, people will still search for your website.
However, this scenario might have a flaw. Not everyone has heard about you.
So how do you get in contact with those who haven’t? This is where an optimized website comes into play.
People searching for solutions will type certain keywords on Google and the search engines will show them, among other websites, your domain too. If you put some extra effort and insert focus keywords on your meta tags, people will see those words highlighted in the search results.
Between a business that has random meta titles and descriptions and a brand that displays the exact keywords people are looking for, the choice is very simple. People will choose the optimized content.
After all, it already has the information they need, so they’re more likely to find something relevant there.
From this point of view, we can say that an enhanced meta title and meta description for SEO purposes can influence clicks. The more people click on your links, the better Google will index your site and see it as trustworthy.
So, How Long Should Your Meta Title & Description Be?
As we already mentioned earlier, specialists’ opinions are divided.
But, if you pay attention, you’ll see that almost all points of view have something in common.
For example, Gary Illyes – the most cited Google specialist – says that you shouldn’t bother too much with the meta description length because there is no limit to that. And, surprisingly, even if your meta titles and description are not fully displayed, Google still crawls them and indexes your pages.
But what do big SEO tools say about this?
Moz says you should keep your meta title length between 50-60 characters. However, they agree that there’s no actual limit to how many characters you can use.
On the other hand, Ahrefs recommends using between 50-60 characters. But unlike Moz, Ahrefs doesn’t admit if there is such a thing as meta title max length or not.
SEMRush suggests the same thing – it’s best to keep it at 50-60 characters. But they see their choice as just “effective”. Whether Google may have or may have not a character limit, the readers won’t be able to see your entire title on Google’s search results page.
Moreover, SEMRush says that since your title is truncated, some readers might be put off by not being able to read the full message. After all, why bother writing something that only search engines will notice?
As you can see, although people might have different opinions about this, you can still get an idea about the Do’s and Dont’s of writing meta titles and meta descriptions.
And since any inside information from Google is important, try to keep that in mind next time you’re writing your meta tags.
As long as the information you provide is engaging, short, and accurate, you don’t have to think too much about things like these.
Conclusion
One thing is clear – high-quality content and clever SEO on page are essential to boost your brand awareness.
Nonetheless, keep in mind that well-written meta tags are not the ultimate ranking factors. Besides this, you should always:
- Use accurate business information.
- Have a mobile-friendly website.
- Improve your domain authority.
- Have fast loading pages (with no bugs).
- Secure your website.
- Create high-quality backlinks.
Do you have any questions about how to write meta descriptions?
Do you know any other great meta description examples?
Let us know in the comments below! We strive to help our readers only with the most accurate answers and the best SEO Malaysia content on how to grow your business!
