How to write meta descriptions for SEO

What is a meta description? How do you write one? Why do meta descriptions matter? Do they actually help with search engine optimization?

What is a meta tag?

Meta tags are HTML elements that provide information about a web page to search engines and to the site's visitors.

Two elements should be placed as tags in the head section of an HTML document. These elements are:

• the title tag (or meta title)
• the description tag (or meta description)

What is a meta description?

The meta description is the short paragraph of text placed in a web page's HTML code that describes its content. The meta description then appears under your page's URL in the search results. This is also known as a snippet.

Where do you add the meta description?

You can add a meta description in the head section of your site's HTML code. It should look something like this:

<head>
<meta name="description" content="Mon super descriptif de cette page web">
</head>

You should have full control over your meta description in your CMS, especially if you use WordPress.

If you use an SEO plugin such as Yoast, you can add a meta description in the "meta description" field, and preview how it will look in the search engine results pages (SERPs):

Why does the meta description matter?

A meta description can influence whether a searcher decides to click through to your content from the search results. The more descriptive, appealing and relevant the description, the more likely someone is to click on it.

Are meta descriptions used as a ranking signal?

Google has stated that meta descriptions are NOT a ranking signal. But, again, the quality of the description will influence the click-through rate (CTR), so it's very important to use this element wisely.

How to write a good meta description

Checklist for a good meta description:

• Keywords: make sure the most important keywords for your web page appear in the meta description. Google and the major search engines bold the parts of your snippet that match the search query.
• Write in clear, readable language, this is essential. Stuffing your meta description with keywords is bad, and it doesn't help the searcher in any way. The meta description should read like a normal sentence written by a human
• Use action verbs (for example: watch, check out, discover) that actually prompt action
• Treat the meta description as an ad for your web page: make it as compelling as it is relevant.
• The description must match the content of the page, but you should also make it as appealing as possible
• Length: a meta description should not exceed 130 to 160 characters. Make sure the main keywords sit at the front of the meta
• Write unique meta descriptions: just like the title tag, meta descriptions should be written differently for each page. Avoid duplicating your tags.

Conclusion

Today, the meta description is used to encourage users to click on your page (better CTR).

To sum up, the meta description should:

• Be unique on each web page
• Encourage users to click through to your site (think advertising)
• Include action verbs (check out, let us guide you, discover, etc.)
• Be between 130 and 160 characters long
• Present the content of the target page