Meta Description
The Meta Description Tag
The "meta description tag" is a meta tag used to give a brief description of the current web page. It provides a short summary of the page for use by searchers and search engines.
These words may be the first impression a potential visitor gets of your website , so take the time to get them right for each page. You need to catch your reader's attention, or they may never arrive at your site.
Whether you are designing your own website or not, you can write the description mata tag and have it inserted into the page.
Use of the meta description tag
Description meta tags are important because they often used directly by search engines in their results page, particularly if the search terms and your description closely match.
They are also used by readers when they are looking at search engine results pages to decide which page to click on. It helps them decide whether that page is relevant to their search.
Don't use the same or similar meta description on every page of your site because search engines return individual pages in the search results - not websites.
Where to use the meta description tag
The meta description tag is placed in the "head" section of your web page:
<head>
<title>Keywords and keyword phrases</title>
<meta name="description" content="Choosing effective keywords and keyword phrases requires imagination and time. Start by selecting words that accurately reflect the content of the page." />
<meta name="keywords" content="key words,keyword,keywords,key phrases,keyword phrases" />
</head>
You can provide the best words for your website designer to add to each page.
What to write in a meta description
Write an accurate description of the page. Although it isn't seen on the web page, it is seen by potential readers, and may make the difference between them clicking on your page or going on to someone else. Treat it like an advert to promote what you do. Make sure the words you choose are also included within the page.
For example, the page about keywords has a title of "Keywords and keyword phrases" and the meta description is "Choosing effective keywords and keyword phrases requires imagination and time. Start by selecting words that accurately reflect the content of the page."
Using the exact title of the page within this meta tag can help reinforce the focus of the page.
How many words to use
- Keep it under approximately 150 characters including spaces - the rest may be cut off by the search engines, although it does appear to be read by them
- You can write a longer description, but make sure that the most important and relevant words are in the first 150 characters
Remember!
- Do:
- write an accurate description of the page
- make it make sense
- use words that are on the page
- write a different meta description for every page
- use the exact title of the page within this meta tag
Don't:
- just list your keywords
- use generic descriptions like "This is a webpage about"
- describe the page as "page 12"
- Remember:
- it is used by readers to quickly decide whether that page is relevant to their search
- it is used by search engines in their results page - so make it meaningful
Further reading
- Keywords and keyword phrases - quick tips
- Keywords and keyword phrases - how to choose them
- Keywords and keyword phrases - where to use them
- Meta tags - what are they?
- The title tag or page title - the most important tag on a web page
- Meta keywords - what are they? Are they of any use?
If you have more questions or you need more help or advice, please contact us and we will endeavour to help you ~ without any obligation.
