The meta description is like the summary on the back of a book. It’s a brief description of what’s on the webpage. You usually see it in search engine results under the meta title. While it doesn’t directly affect your page’s ranking in search results, it’s essential for catching the reader’s interest. A well-written meta description gives a quick overview of the page’s content and encourages people to click and read more. It’s like a movie trailer – giving just enough information to intrigue people without revealing the whole story.
Keyfacts for an effective meta description
Length
Keep it around 160 characters. Search engines may truncate longer descriptions,
so aim for a concise yet informative summary.
Relevance
Ensure the meta description accurately reflects the content of the page.
Misleading descriptions can lead to a higher bounce rate as users may not find what they expect.
Keywords
Include relevant keywords that users might use to find content related to your page.
This can improve your page’s visibility in search results.
Uniqueness
Avoid using identical meta descriptions across multiple pages.
Each page should have a distinctive and relevant description.
Clarity
Ensure that the description is easy to understand and provides a clear indication of what the page offers.
Ambiguous or confusing descriptions may deter users.
Readability
Use proper grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure to make the description easy to read.
A well-constructed description can enhance user trust and engagement.
Revised Content
If you update the content on your page, make sure to also update the meta description to reflect the current information accurately.
Instructions to set your meta description for the most common CMS platforms
These instructions may vary slightly depending on the theme or extensions you’re using. Consult your CMS documentation or support resources for specific guidance related to your platform.
WordPress
Open the WordPress dashboard.
Navigate to the post or page for which you want to set the meta description.
Scroll down to the “Yoast SEO” or another installed SEO plugin section.
There, you will find a field labeled “Meta Description” or something similar. Enter your meta description in this field.
Update the post or page.
Joomla
Log in to the Joomla administrator area.
Navigate to “Content” > “Articles” for articles or “Components” > “Category Manager” for categories.
Select the article or category for which you want to set the meta description.
Click on the “Metadata” tab and enter your meta description in the appropriate field.
Save the changes.
Drupal
Log in to the Drupal administrator area.
Go to “Content” > “Edit content” for content or “Structure” > “Manage Taxonomy” for taxonomies.
Select the content or taxonomy and scroll down to the “Meta Tags” section.
Enter your meta description in the “Meta Description” field.
Save the changes.
Magento
Log in to the Magento Admin Panel.
Go to “Content” > “Elements” > “Pages” for static pages or “Catalog” > “Products” for products.
Select the page or product for which you want to set the meta description.
Scroll down to the “Search Engine Optimization” section and enter your meta description.
Save the changes.