The success of your online presence is based on so many factors. It doesn’t matter if you’re a blogger that does it for a hobby or a big company trying to beat its competitors. You all have the same goal- to reach your target audience and send them the right messages. While there are dozens of pieces of this puzzle, the meta description of your page can play a significant role.

The meta description is a summary of the page’s content in 160 characters that helps potential visitors decide whether to click it or not. It’s portrayed in Google search results, right under the page title. If you want it to help you rank higher, get more traffic, boost your sales, or achieve any other goal, you have to optimize it for SEO. Luckily, the guide below will tell you exactly how to do it.

Just keep reading.

1. Hit the Essence of The Page

Your meta description is a short two-three sentence-long description of what the page is all about. The first challenge you need to face is to understand and cover the essence of your page.

If your meta description provides a false description of what the page is about, you’ll end up with some angry audience members and a high bounce rate.

To avoid this, make sure that you tell potential visitors:

• what the page is about
• what’s the value that it offers
• what should they visit it

So, if we were writing a meta description for this page you’re reading, it could go something like:

• Writing meta description can be crucial for the success of your website. Learn how to do it with our 6 ultimate tips.

We told them why they need to learn this skill and promise to teach them within the article.

2. Insert a Keyword

Keywords are important for SEO. Search engines use them to rank your content for certain searches, and your target audience types them in the Google search bar.

This is why you need to find room for a keyword in your meta description.

But, remember- you need to:

• place it in the meta description naturally
• use the main keyword only
• avoid keyword stuffing

Don’t be deceived that stuffing 5 keywords into a single meta description will help you rank higher. On the contrary, it can damage your ranking.

Let’s compare:

• If you want to buy garden tools online, we’ve got everything you need. From hand forks to digging shovels- you’ll find it all in our webshop.
• Do you want to buy garden tools online and find garden tools you need? You can buy garden tools in our webshop, so visit it to get your gardening equipment.

The first example is far more natural, effective, and promising. There’s only one keyword, but that’s what makes it stronger and more impactful.

3. Add a CTA

If you want your target audience to respond to your meta description even better, add a call-to-action (CTA) to this magic potion of yours.

CTAs are short, persuasive messages that tell your audience members exactly what you want them to do. They should be placed at the end of your meta description, to make sure the message sticks in.

Here’s how to create killer CTAs:

• keep them short
• make them explicit and to the point
• use powerful, actionable words
• create a sense of urgency
• use imperative

The CTA for our previous example could be:

• Head to our webshop to find all the garden tools you need!

Give them a push in the right direction and ensure they feel like they have to visit your page.

4. Know & Mention The Pain Points

Knowing your target audience is the key to your SEO strategy. You need to know who they are, how they behave online, what they need, and how they feel.

To put it simply, you need to know their pain points.

Once you define those pain points, you should use them in your meta description to show your audience you understand them.

Here’s a couple of examples:

• You need a web designer that has the skills and expertise to build you a high-quality website…
• You love your hair but can’t find the natural, organic hair care products…

Show them you’re on the same page with them, and you’ll have them interested in visiting your page.

5. Use Simple Language

Your meta description has the goal of reaching as many people as possible. And, the simpler language you use, the more people are going to read your meta description and develop an interest in your page.

Simplicity is key when you’re trying to stand out in the sea of other page’s meta description.

Follow these rules to create easy to understand meta descriptions:

• use simple, everyday language
• forget about technical vocabulary only experts understand
• write for the layman
• use simple vocabulary and sentence structure

The simpler your message, the better. Check out these good writing websites if you need someone to give you a hand and polish your writing.

6. Focus on Branding

Your brand image is not something you can turn on when you feel like it and vice versa. It’s something that you nurture from the first thing you publish or say as a brand.

Whether it’s a personal brand of you as a blogger or a company brand, you need to make sure you keep it consistent throughout everything that you do.

That includes your meta descriptions.

Make sure that you use:

• brand personality
• tone
• voice
• style of writing

Your brand image has to be strongly present and visible in your meta descriptions. This will keep you credible and trustworthy.

Final Thoughts

A strong, powerful meta description can help you reach the goals you’ve set for your blog, business, or company. All you have to do is master the art of writing killer meta description for SEO.

Hopefully, the 6 tips we’ve shared above will help you create a meta description strategy. Use them for your future meta descriptions, and keep striving for higher goals.