As a marketer, you have probably heard of meta tags, but you probably fall into the category of people who fail to realize the importance of these small pieces of code. Optimizing your meta title and description is a must-do to improve users’ first impression of your content quality, as well as the likelihood of them clicking through. And yes, Google doesn’t use meta tags in its ranking algorithm, but metadata still has an indirect effect on SERPs. Here are the basics we, at 411 Locals, would advise you to follow to have perfect snippets.
Let’s start with the Don’ts
We already explained why metadata is important, and here comes the question of whether you care enough to pay attention to it. The short answer, of course, is Yes. To help you avoid making basic mistakes, here is what you shouldn’t do when writing metadata.
Your Title
To begin with, don’t fall into the trap of using a keyword more than two times. It will not sound good, and it will not be favored by Google. Instead, find the synonyms of that keyword that will help you rank for as many search queries as possible. Furthermore, do not get sloppy and create similar titles for several pages. It’s better if you have simple but differing titles rather than a short spin on the same one. Last but not least, don’t be a copycat and use the titles of your competitors.
Your Description
The most important thing about your description is that it should be closely related to the content of the page. Google bots analyze content relevancy of the meta description and the text of the page. If the bots decide there is little to no relevancy, they will penalize your website for manipulating people to click through based on a faulty description. The second most important thing is the description length. We already discussed how that changed over the last year, so let’s just sum up by stating your meta description should ideally be between 150 and 170 characters. If it is less than 100, Google bots might decide not to use it.
What About the Do’s?
Your Title
In a nutshell, they need to be precise, relevant, and catchy. Technically speaking, they need to be no more than 65 characters because engines cut out ones that are too long. If you want people to see your entire title, keep it neat. The most important message in your title should fit in the first 50 characters, and that includes your keywords. If people are bored with your title, they will just not click through. Stay away from too “ornamental” language as your title must be easy to understand.
Your Description
Again, important keywords must be strategically placed at the beginning of the description. It should be between 150-170 characters, and it must end with a Call to Action (CTA). This will encourage people to click through. Do not forget to exploit your competitive advantage. If you have seasonal sales, discounts, free delivery, etc., make sure to include it in the description.
We just laid the foundations of having a proper and clickable snippet. There is a lot more to know, but that is something the clients of 411 Locals exclusively benefit from. If you wish to be one of them, our SEO company is just a phone call away!