Even before you can write a meta description you have to understand why your writing it and how it will benefit your website. The meta description is meant to be brief and concise summary of your page’s content. It’s designed to provide a brief description of your site which can be used by search engines or directories. When writing the description you should limit it to 150 characters at most.
Create unique descriptions for each page
Just like your website each page has different content so should your descriptions. If you have Google Webmaster Tools set up on your website, there is a section that tells you if any of your pages have similar meta descriptions. Simple – don’t copy and paste descriptions from page to page.
Create relevant meta descriptions
Write your descriptions to reflect what the content is about on the page. Don’t write about Dog Collars if the page is about Dog Toys. If you don’t have the word dog collars on the page don’t include it. If possible incorporate target keywords within the front part of your description. Don’t over use keywords either this can be seen as keyword spamming. A poorly written or non relevant description will have no value to your website.
Meta Description = Sales Pitch
Search engines and directories can pull this content to display to the user so use this space to be descriptive, informative and promote your web page. Sell the page in 150 characters for the visitor not the search engine. Make sure the description is easy to read and proof read it. Check for grammar and spelling mistakes. Would you want to do business with a company that can’t spell their products correctly? Sometimes the meta description is the first thing visitors see, they scan the search results and read through all the descriptions that are displayed. You want yours to stand out and be what the user is looking for.
Going back to the example of Dog Collars, XYZ.com is a petstore that sells pet products.
A good choice in meta description would be – For the most unique and highest quality dog collars for all breeds we offer a large collection of designer leather dog collars available in sizes from extra small to extra large.
A poor choice in meta description would be – XYZ.com offers the best dog products since 2000 such as collars, beds, leashes, toys and bowls.
The better written your meta descriptions are, the better chance you have in providing the search engines with a relevant description of what the page is about. This all turns into creating more clickthroughs and hopefully a better search engine ranking.