Category
📗SEO Resource
Tags
🔘 Simple
Last updated
Jun 8, 2023 6:33 PM
Author
NJ
Meta Descriptions and SEO
- Meta descriptions are short overviews for your webpages.
- They show up under the title in search results.
- Google doesn't use them directly for site ranking but they affect how users behave.
- A good description can get more users to click on your site. More clicks can indirectly help your SEO.
Put in Effort When:
- You want more clicks on your site. A good description can make users want to click.
- You want your site to look good in search results. Good meta descriptions can make your site look more attractive.
- You want to give users a short, accurate idea of your page content.
May Not Be Important When:
- You have a large site with many pages. Writing unique meta descriptions for all could be too much work.
- You're fine with Google making descriptions from your page content and the user's search.
What Will Happen If You Ignore Meta Descriptions?
- Your site might be less noticeable in search results. Bad or unclear descriptions can turn users away.
- There might be fewer clicks because users may skip your page if the description doesn't make sense or provide enough info.
Key Points to Remember:
- Try to make each meta description unique and accurate.
- Keep descriptions short, ideally under 160 characters, so they show up fully in search results.
- Make sure they match the page content. Wrong descriptions can lead to more bounces, which can harm SEO.
Verdict:
- It's usually worth it to work on meta descriptions, but don't get your hopes too high.
- They can indirectly boost your SEO by getting more clicks, but they're not a direct ranking factor.
- Think about your site's size, the time you have, and your overall SEO plan when deciding how much effort to put in.
- Remember, Google may not always show your descriptions, especially if they don't match the user's search.
- Meta descriptions are just one part of SEO. They're helpful but they don't decide your SEO success alone.