Friday, September 6, 2019

Here’s What You Need to Know About Meta Description Length



When working with our marketing customers at Joseph Studios, we try our best not to geek out about too much of the nitty-gritty behind the scenes. We do, however, like to keep them in the know about the different tactics we are using to keep them on top and ahead of their competitors in a way that they can easily understand. This brings us to the importance of meta descriptions and how they can help leverage descriptions to achieve better rankings. 

Remember – I promise not to geek out on this.

What is a meta description?

The results of a keyword search provide a long list of results or “hits.” Each hit has a meta title and a link to get to the page. Below is a snippet from the content on that page to give you a taste of what’s to come and a look into how it relates to the keywords in your search. The goal is for this tiny bit of information to be “enough” to attract the searcher to your website to read more. How exactly is that accomplished? Read on, for we’re about to describe this meta description strategy for you.

Does a meta description help SEO at all?

For my best “in a nutshell” description, search engine optimization (SEO) is achieved through a combination of the content and activities (visits and duration of visit) on your website. Google has an algorithm taking all of this into account, and that is what determines your ranking on those search results. 
The meta description in and of itself does nothing to secure your place in the line of search results ***except*** be the right description to get the attention of the searcher to click through to your website. It is the clicking through, and their browsing around that gives your website activity a bump. The meta description just got them there in the first place, so there IS value in that meta description!
So by people clicking through to your site, Google’s algorithm is noticing this and taking note of their clicking and the search phrase. Google is learning and making those connections between the query and your content. This association will be matched to future queries, making your website content a legit listing when Google gets another similar search. This action is what moves your content and your company ranking up higher on the list each time this occurs. Isn’t artificial intelligence awesome?
While Google is king for algorithms, other search engines work in similar ways, making those connections between your website content and click-through actions from every search query that occurs. With this in mind, you want to make sure that meta description has valuable information to grab readers’ attention and want to learn more.

What is the ideal meta description length?

The easy answer to this one is a meta description that can be read entirely. Officially, a meta description “can” be up to around 300 characters. That doesn’t mean that all 300 characters are seen by those searching. For instance, a search conducted by a tablet or phone will see far less than a search from a PC. This makes your available characters to get your point across on that list of hits much smaller. Try to get your meta description length down to about 120 characters. We say this because that is the number of characters that will display on a mobile device and 58% of all searches come from mobile devices. A tablet can see around 150 characters. 

What about other search engines?

No disrespect to the makers of search engines like Bing, Yahoo, and the others, but you always hear about Google’s search engine, ratings, and algorithms. These other search engines do have their own ranking means and algorithms, as well. Google has managed to be the king of all search engines, with 90% of all search volume conducted on Google above all others.  When it comes to meta description length, Bing and Yahoo can hold around 168 characters on a desktop.
With this in mind, you should resist the urge to take up all 300 characters for your meta description with 42% of those viewing unable to see it all. If the first 120 characters don’t make sense, they can pass you over and never even look.  If you can keep your meta description to a meaningful 120 characters for a mobile device, your meta description is ultimately viewable any search engine and any device. This will help with more successful click-throughs creating a positive impact on your SEO.

Focus on your audience

Now that you understand that the meta description is to attract live humans instead of appeasing algorithms, concentrate on your audience without the stress of fitting in those keywords in such a short space. Give your audience an accurate description of the content they will find on your page. Think of it as a tiny sales pitch that your website is just what they’ve been looking for in their search.
Think of three words when writing your meta descriptions: short, sweet, and useful. Your goal is now solely focused on your audience.

Check your meta description length before posting

Now, before you put a finger to the screen counting characters, there are tools to do this much easier than that! First of all, you can do the same on Google Docs or MS Word on the bottom of the screen (if you didn’t know that already). 
Check with your website’s content management system for a tool. There may be a perfect plugin for that. WordPress, for example, has the Yoast plugin. Yoast enables you to update the meta title, meta description, and your URL slug to the keywords and content. Other platforms such as Wix may require you to edit these details through the HTML code directly. It’s worth a look around to see if there is a tool out there for you.
Here are a few sites for free meta description analysis for those of you not using Yoast. 
Just like all of your content, you are looking to connect with your audience, and it starts with the meta description to get their attention. The rest is for you to shine with their undivided attention!

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