A Meta tag description refers to a one hundred sixty characters extract which is generally used to summarize web pages content. These snippets are used by the search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and the likes to make the visitors aware about the content of a page. Google itself is one of the best examples of Meta description.
- Optimal Length
Generally, Meta descriptions can be of any length but Google has recently truncated its limit to three hundred characters. It is also recommended to keep the Meta descriptions length between fifty to three hundred characters.
Optimal length of any Meta description varies depending on numerous factors including the content, the object, and the target audience. To keep it short and simple, one should provide values and add drive clicks to the Meta descriptions.
- Optimal Format
On one hand, Meta Tag Descriptions are web masters’ chance to advertise content available with them to the searchers whereas, on the other hand, it is a chance for the searchers to decide whether the content provided by the webmasters is relevant and matching the information they are seeking. So, it would be no wrong to say that Meta description serves a dual purpose and holds its significance for both the searchers as well as the advertisers.
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Points To Be Taken Care Of While Writing the Meta Descriptions
Avoid the use of duplicate Meta descriptions as it is more effective to publicize your message with a unique content because that would help attract more and more traffic to your pages and ultimately help in increasing the click through rate.
- Obsession with the character count is another problem created by the users while framing a Meta description. An ideal Meta description can be in between one hundred sixty to three hundred characters and one having short descriptions should not go for squeezing more characters into it.
- Not using keywords is one of the other mistakes initiated by the webmasters while framing the Meta descriptions. The use of the right keywords is very essential for a page’s content and meeting the searchers demand. So, it is of paramount importance to ensure that your Meta descriptions are oriented to page’s title and its content.
- Unimpressive copy in the Meta description is another common mistake that the webmasters do. To increase the traffic, Click through rate and conversions at your page, it is essential for you to be uniquely creative with your Meta description.
- Avoiding the use of direct HTML tables is also essential for a proper framing of Meta description. As Google’s mission is to organize world’s information and make it universally accessible, then it is quite obvious that it will give preference to websites that provide the users with the direct and most relevant answers to the users.
So, it is very important for the website masters to identify the questions based on searches and prepare a detailed answer by implementing HTML tags and understanding its basics.
Do Metas Even Matter?
A lot of large websites do not even use the Meta tags at all and yet they rank perfectly well in search results. Wikipedia is one of the biggest examples. So, we can conclude that Meta tag is not the oxygen of the webpage to increase its SEO. However, we cannot ignore the fact that it definitely is a critical component of the webpage that cannot be completely ignored.
