Boost your page ranking with the ultimate SEO-friendly Meta Description guide. Meta descriptions serve various purposes and can be crafted in multiple ways. Above all, an effective meta description entices the user to click. It achieves this by using captivating, readable content and incorporating the keyword or keyphrase, making it stand out in search results.

Crafting an SEO-Optimized Meta Description

Our approach to meta descriptions has remained consistent. In 2011, Joost recounted attending an SMX panel discussion on “What Matters for Technical SEO?” where Jonathan Hochman brought up an important point. He mentioned modifying an old CMS to generate meta descriptions by automatically using the initial 150 characters of every article. This is a solution we strongly advise against. It was one of the features in All in One SEO that Joost found so unfavorable that he decided to develop a superior alternative, which formed the foundation for the current Yoast SEO plugin.

Typically, the opening paragraph of an article serves as an introduction leading to the article’s conclusion, rather than a concise summary or a hook to encourage further reading. At Yoast, we believe in combining the introduction with a brief overview in the first paragraph. Our SEO analysis will indicate whether your chosen focus keyword is present in that initial paragraph.

We strongly recommend that the first paragraph remains focused on the topic. If it isn’t, the first 150 characters are unlikely to be suitable for SEO meta descriptions and probably won’t contain the focus keyword for your post. This means you won’t benefit from the bolded keyword in search results, nor will it be compelling enough for users to click on.

Essential Elements to Include

Firstly, ensure you incorporate the focus keyword naturally, without sounding robotic or mechanical just to satisfy SEO requirements. Remember, you are writing for people, not solely for search engines. Additionally, consider adding a call to action.

There’s no fixed ideal length; it depends on the message you want to convey. Provide enough information while keeping it concise and engaging. However, if you examine Google’s search results, you’ll notice that snippets typically range between 120 and 156 characters, as illustrated in the example below.

It’s important to note that we don’t have complete control over what Google displays in search results. Sometimes, it chooses to show the meta tag, while other times, it extracts a few sentences from your content. In either case, brevity is key. If Google opts to display your crafted SEO-friendly meta description, it won’t be truncated.

SEO Requires Active Involvement

We strongly oppose the notion of “auto-generation,” particularly for content-driven websites, as it creates the misconception that SEO can be automated. This is simply not true. A reliable SEO plugin can certainly assist with technical aspects, but producing high-quality, link-worthy content is what consistently drives rankings. Auto-generating meta descriptions has never proven beneficial.

Some might argue that while automatically generating meta descriptions isn’t ideal for SEO, it could be advantageous for social media efforts. However, the same principles apply to social media as they do to meta descriptions. Ineffective snippets will result in low click-throughs on those platforms as well. Using the first 150 characters as the description for your Facebook post isn’t the most effective approach either. Always craft compelling descriptions and/or excerpts for your posts to enhance their visibility on both Google and social media platforms.

Your Guide to Crafting Effective Meta Descriptions

Within our Yoast SEO plugin, the meta description gets a lot of emphasis. This emphasis is intentional: it has a significant impact. A well-crafted meta tag, along with an effective title and a user-friendly post URL, creates a search result that people are more likely to click on. You can preview how your search result will appear below your post:

[Image: Snippet preview, including the meta description, from Yoast SEO plugin following the creation guide]

The approach differs significantly for eCommerce platforms. In such cases, you can leverage various product attributes to create informative and readable meta descriptions that provide valuable information to searchers and potential customers.

Social Descriptions Using the Yoast SEO Plugin

The Yoast SEO plugin now includes built-in support for specifying social snippets, allowing you to tailor descriptions specifically for Twitter and Facebook, in addition to customized meta descriptions. If left blank, social snippets default to using the meta description. However, remember that platforms like Twitter have character limits (140 characters), while your SEO-friendly meta description can be slightly longer.

For optimal results, manually create an appealing meta description, a well-written tweet, and an engaging Facebook post. Enhance the text with tailor-made illustrations or images optimized for each platform’s preferred dimensions. Additionally, experiment to determine whether your audience responds better to longer, more descriptive Facebook posts (which include a “See more” link in Facebook timelines) or shorter descriptions with a clear call to action.

Meta Descriptions: A Suggestion, Not a Guarantee

It’s crucial to understand that meta descriptions are essentially suggestions to Google, as stated by the company in 2009. Google will display your meta description if it’s deemed better than the automatically generated snippet. The snippet that Google determines is a snippet containing the keywords users searched for on Google, so ensure your meta description also includes the (focus) keyword. If your meta description isn’t appearing in Google’s search results, analyze the snippet being used and identify ways to improve your SEO-friendly meta description based on it.

One Final Tip

While focusing on meta descriptions is essential, don’t overlook the rest of your snippet. For instance, the URL for this post is https://nexus-security.github.io/seo-friendly-meta-description, which is short, relevant, and easy to share on social media. Ultimately, effective SEO involves considering all these aspects and cannot be achieved through simple automation.