The user first pays attention to the description and title when he sees the search results. For him to click on the link, you need to interest him with the help of an explanation. We will tell you how to do it and avoid common mistakes.

What is description

The description is a tag that contains a brief description of the page with keywords, usually two to three sentences. Users see it in a snippet in the search results - the report comes after the link and title and does not directly affect the ranking of the site but is essential for visitors' perception.

Why do you need a description?

A meta description contributes to the effective promotion of a website - not directly, but through behavioral factors. The user sees the report and understands: here. He will find what he is looking for. CTR is growing, and if the content meets people's expectations, the average time spent on the site and the percentage of repeat visits increase. All this is taken into account when ranking pages by search engines.

How description is displayed in Google

Google shows the results in the form of a snippet, which includes the following elements:

• link,
• title - title,
• description,
• sections of the site - for the first result of the issuance.

Note! Google determines which sections of the site or page to show in the snippet. He focuses on the most popular and valuable - in his opinion. You can't force a search engine to show you what you want. But you can draw his attention with the help of micro-markup.

Checklist on how to write a good description

We have put together some tips for you on how to write a description. Follow them so that the meta description fulfills its purpose.

Add keywords

In the snippet, keywords at the user's request are highlighted in bold, which affects the CTR. Add one or two keywords - one in the first sentence and one in the text. It would help if you did not overdo it, and it must look natural and not spammy.

Respect originality

Prepare a unique description that describes the page's content and does not copy the report from snippets of other sites.

At the same time, for each page of the site, or at least for the main ones that bring a lot of traffic, you need to make a separate description. Otherwise, your position in the search results may decrease.

Keep track of the number of characters

The Google documentation does not specify a limit on the size of the description, but it can be truncated in the snippet to fit the device's screen width. Therefore, the optimal description length is 150-170 characters with spaces.

Write for people

The meaning of the description is to tell users what awaits them when they click on the link. You do not need to add all possible keywords, this will scare away visitors, and robots can also identify such a site as suspicious.

The more specific the description, the better. For example, if you only repair refrigerators, you should refrain from writing about repairing household appliances. Also, try to avoid formulaic phrases.

Use emojis where appropriate

Emojis attract attention, so using them can increase CTR. The main thing is not to overdo it and not put them where it is out of place. For example, for a page of a beauty salon, this is quite acceptable, but for a funeral services agency, it is unlikely.

Neutral icons — phone, checkmarks, and the like — are appropriate in almost any area.

Write a USP

Description for pages of commercial sites should contain USP. Tap into customer pain points and offer a solution to the problem from a competitive advantage, as in the example below.

The ellipsis at the end of the title and description means that the user sees only part of the text. That is, it would be nice to shorten it.

Use Marketing Psychology

Impact your audience with triggers. If the user falls for the hook of interest, they will click on the link.

Try to make the description attractive and spacious and use the selling potential of this attribute to the maximum. Put yourself in the place of a potential client - what will make you open the page? But at the same time, expectations must coincide with reality, so you should not engage in obvious clickbait.

Add a call to action

The purpose of the description is to describe the page and encourage people to take the desired action. So formulate a CTA. You can use the words "Learn," "Look," "Leave a request," and so on.

Organize information

It is helpful to write down essential information in the description, such as price or deadlines. So a potential client will immediately see important information that influences his decision.

Avoid apostrophes

Do not use apostrophes in the meta description. Google can cut off all the text that goes on, and the meaning is lost.

Features description for pages of different types

When compiling descriptions, you must proceed from the features of pages of different types. Let's consider a few of them.

Description for the main page of the company

The description of the site's main page serves as a presentation of the resource as a whole. If this is a company page, briefly describe its mission, goals, and benefits to consumers. If a brand has become famous for a few specific products, like Apple, you can mention them in the description.

If the company provides many services, list them all or at least the most popular ones. List the benefits that set you apart from your competitors.

All information will not fit in the description, so create rich snippets with additional elements.

Description of the product page

If you have multiple products, prepare a separate description for each that answers the questions:

• What is this product,
• who is it for,
• what problems, and how to solve?

The description can be less detailed if most of the information is given in the title. Add additional elements - ratings and reviews.

Mistakes when writing description

Several things could be improved when compiling a description, and we analyze them in this section.

Lack of description

Sometimes the page meta description needs to be filled in, and then the search engine loads the first paragraph or individual fragments of text. Such a vague description, which may not contain the keywords from the query, will likely not attract the user's attention.

Too many keywords

The description should be written in human language for people. If all the keywords are collected in a heap, this causes distrust, and the click-through rate drops.

No keywords

The opposite situation could be better. When there are no keywords, the user has nothing to catch on in the text, and, most likely, he will not open the page.

Header Duplicate

The description should reveal the essence of the heading and, in no case, duplicate it. Otherwise, the site's position in issuing search engines may fall.

Description not suitable for a length

The search engine may only accept a description with a few characters; if it is shorter, it will cut it off. Try to keep within 150-170 characters, including spaces.

Lack of clarity in text

The description should be concise, concise, and as informative as possible, and it needs more room for lengthy discussions and heaps of introductory words

Description and content mismatch

For example, the content must match if you promise something in the description to reveal the most effective sales techniques. Otherwise, people will quickly leave the site, which will be reflected in the search results.