If you want to occupy a better position in Google’s search results, it’s important to understand the concept of meta title and meta description. After clarifying these concepts, we’ll provide practical tips on how, where, and how to create them so they truly serve you effectively.
What is a meta title or meta title used for?
A meta title is an HTML element that is visible in the “head” section when you view the source code of any webpage (right-click, inspect). Its purpose is to help web browsers and search engines find and display the page title in search results. From an SEO perspective, it plays a very important role, as Google will judge how relevant a given page is to the current search query based on the meta title’s keywords and content, and will accordingly rank it in the search results.
How to get the most out of meta titles?
When optimizing your meta titles, there are several formal and content-related factors worth keeping in mind.
From a formal perspective, you should know that Google allocates exactly 580 pixels of space for the meta title, which corresponds to about 70 characters. This length includes spaces, so everything must fit within it, otherwise Google will cut off the end of your title. Ideally, your meta title should be between 55 and 65 characters.
Content-wise, the meta title should contain the most important keywords that characterize your page. It should be formulated in a way that avoids keyword stuffing, as that can backfire negatively. You should aim for an expressive, meaningful sentence as the end result that conveys a concise and understandable message to the user about why your page is relevant to them. The most important keyword should be at the beginning of the sentence, as Google places great emphasis on the first words of the title. It’s best not to use more than 4 keywords. Repetition of words and spelling or typing mistakes should be avoided. If the title consists of multiple phrases, don’t separate them with hyphens, but instead use this vertical line symbol “|” which will give a much more prominent appearance in the search results.
It’s important to create the meta title on every page of your website, otherwise Google will generate them based on the content it finds on the page. This may or may not be very effective. Overall, it can be said that paying attention to the meta title is definitely worthwhile, as with minimal invested effort it can provide significant advantages in search rankings.
What is Meta description, or meta description?
From an SEO perspective, the other important meta tag is the meta description, or meta description. It also appears in the head section of the HTML source code on every webpage, right below the meta title. Essentially, it’s a brief, to-the-point summary of the content of a given page.
To make it clear, here’s what a meta description looks like in Google search results:
And here’s what it looks like in the source code:
<meta name=”description” content=”Välassz kiegészítők széles kínálatából , rendelj kiszállítással vagy vedd át személyesen. Vásárolj kedvencednek stílusos nyakörvet, akár vízálló kivitelben! Egyedi, örök darabok.”>
How much does meta description matter for search rankings?
In today’s intelligent search engine world, meta description is not a direct ranking factor, but it can have an indirect impact. So while you won’t see an immediate increase in traffic if you perfect all your meta descriptions on your website, it’s worth paying attention to for the following reasons:
A well-written meta description increases CTR
It’s best to think of the meta description as advertising copy. The goal is to create a description that makes users ignore all other results in the search list and click on your page instead. Because the more visitors, the more potential customers. And as a bonus, the more people who click on your page, the higher you can rank in search results long-term. So that’s the indirect effect.
Will Google always use your meta description?
Google wants to help you. If it finds that your description is highly relevant to a particular search query, it will display it. This usually happens when searches come for your primary, high-traffic keywords. However, if your so-called less-searched long-tail keywords are the relevant ones, Google will try to select a snippet from your page content that best matches the search query.
How to create a perfect meta description?
Your description should not take up more than 1000 px
This means approximately 155-165 characters. We specified the available space in pixels because a few other things can affect the space taken up beyond character count: for example, if your search query appears in your meta description, Google will display it in bold and thus it will take up more space. Additionally, punctuation marks and the number of capital letters are unpredictable factors in how much space they take up. If you want to be sure you fit within the limit without Google cutting off your description, use an optimization tool developed for this problem.
Use your primary keywords in the meta description as well
If your primary keyword appears in the meta description as well – not just in the meta title – it will appear in bold, which can increase click-through rate.
Ask a question and immediately provide the answer
Most Google searches appear in the form of questions, although the engine converts them internally into search phrases. Nevertheless, this shows that users want to get answers to their problems. It’s worth taking advantage of this information and presenting your product/service as a solution to a potential problem.
Offer something as a bonus
“Free shipping” “Free assessment” “Downloadable PDF” “Free video tutorial” etc. … These are all persuasive words offering benefits that generate clicks and belong in the last remaining 50 characters.
Examine your competitors’ descriptions
They operate in the same market as you, so they can provide numerous good inspirations without copying their text. Always browse their advertised descriptions, since they’re paying for them, they surely carefully crafted them.
Emphasize your uniqueness
The description should show why your company is the best among all. If you’ve been in the field for a long time, highlight your extensive experience. If you’re an expert, don’t be shy about emphasizing it, etc.
Use action-oriented words
We’re not necessarily talking about phrases like “Buy now” or “Call immediately,” but it can be worthwhile to subtly inform visitors what you expect from them. For example, phrases like “discover” or “learn more” can be click-friendly.
And what should you avoid?
Too short is not good
On one hand, it’s not smart not to use all the space you have available to present your page. On the other hand, a too-short description is not trust-inducing.
Providing multiple meta descriptions for one page
This usually happens when someone fills in the meta data in the admin panel for individual pages and also downloads an SEO plugin and fills in the data there as well. This creates a programming error that search engines don’t like and because of it they may rank the page lower.
