How Long Should a Meta Description Be

In on-page SEO, one essential element that often gets overlooked is the meta description. This short snippet of text provides a summary of a webpage's content. A good meta description appears on the search engine results page below the page title.

While meta descriptions may seem like small details, they play a role in increasing clicks and organic traffic. In this case study, we examine our client’s website, which has too long meta descriptions. Let’s dive in!

What is a Meta Description?

A meta description is a snippet of your website's content that appears in search engine results below the URL. It provides users with a sneak peek into what they can expect to find on the page.

So, how long should a meta description be?

The ideal meta description length is around 150-160 characters. This ensures that the description is visible on the search results page to entice users to click.

Google Search Central also suggested to:

What we found:

The site's pages featured meta descriptions that were excessively long and lacked precise focus. By refining these descriptions, we aimed to enhance their effectiveness in search engine results.

Shorter, more targeted meta descriptions have the potential to significantly improve user engagement. This also enhances click-through rates, thereby boosting the site's overall SEO performance. 

In general, this optimization strategy is crucial for e-commerce platforms. And it’s for everyone seeking to attract and retain a digital audience effectively.

What we did:

In addressing the issue of lengthy meta-descriptions, we advised the client to adopt a more strategic approach.

Our recommendation focused on crafting compelling and unique metadata. And it’s tailored to captivate web users and encourage clicks.

Key Steps Implemented

1. Meta Description Length Optimization. We suggested limiting the meta description length to an optimal range of 150-160 characters. This length is concise enough to maintain user attention. This is while providing sufficient detail to convey the page's content.
2. Creating Unique and Engaging Content. Each meta description was crafted to be distinct and engaging, avoiding generic phrases. The focus was on making each description stand out in Google search results.
3. Highlighting Key Benefits. We emphasized the importance of showcasing the primary benefits of the product or service in the meta description. This is rather than just listing features.
4. Incorporating Target Keywords. Strategic placement of relevant keywords was advised to improve SEO. Additionally, ensure alignment with user search intent.

What results we achieved:

Following our recommendation to optimize the overly long meta descriptions, the client's website experienced a notable improvement. It can be seen in its search engine performance over the last three months. 

Key achievements include:

1. Increased Clicks. There was a significant rise in the number of clicks. And it indicates that more users were enticed to visit the website from search engine results pages.
2. Higher Impressions. The website witnessed an increase in impressions. It’s said that the pages appeared more frequently in search results. And thereby enhancing visibility.
3. Improved Average Click-Through Rate (CTR). The average CTR saw a marked improvement. This shows that a greater percentage of users who viewed the site in search results were compelled to click through.

These results underscore the effectiveness of optimizing meta descriptions. By refining them to be concise, compelling, and targeted, we successfully enhanced the website's appeal to potential visitors. This leads to increased engagement and visibility in search engine results.

Pro Tip: Avoid duplicate meta descriptions. Google tends to prioritize focus on the page's meta description tag with originality and briefness.

Parting Thoughts

Optimizing a meta description is an important aspect of on-page SEO. By limiting the length and incorporating target keywords, the client's website experienced increased clicks.

If your website has lots of long and unfocused meta descriptions, it’s time to optimize it. Hiring an SEO agency like SEOLeverage is the best option. We make sure that your website is well-optimized in search engines and gets better results.

More than that, SEOLeverage provides an SEO audit to check your title and meta tag, as well as your overall content. We give adjustments and recommendations tailored to your needs.

So, it’s time to craft a compelling meta description that leaves users dying to know more about you!