Optimization of meta description is an important on-page SEO step that could lead to traffic and conversion increase if properly understood and deployed. Meta description is an invisible section of your page that is included at the header. It becomes visible when that particular page appears at the top two search engine result pages (SERPs), among the first 20 results. Is this enough to have your meta description visible somewhere among the results? Of course not. There’s more into it than merely appearing there.

To ensure that you take ultimate benefit from your on-page SEO effort, a better understanding of the potential embedded at this meta description could highly boost traffic to your site. Within this 20-40 word or 160 character text, you’re supposed to explain what that page has got to offer.

Potential & Usage of Meta Description

A well-optimized smartly-written meta description could:

1) describe the title:

When your page link appears at the SERP as a result of some query, people can see your page title and a piece of text underneath that which is supposed to describe the title. So, it should convey highly relevant information to best describe what that page contains. What the title introduces in that limited space needs to be further explained. The title tag itself isn’t enough to convince searchers to click. More enlightening information should be presented to describe the page content and its title.

2) compliment the title:

The general topic of the page is introduced at the title tag. To engage searchers more powerfully, you need to provide some information at the meta description to further explain what that title means to the readers and what it offers to them. It should complete the information a searcher is looking for at first glance and at this stage. This would further persuades him/her to select this result and click on it.

3) demonstrate your keywords:

Like you use every page’s keywords at its title tag, it should be a default on-page optimization practice to use them at meta description as well. As in result pages, your keyphrases appear bold, it increases the visibility of your result compared to the others. Therefore, apart from other functions of this piece of text, it also enhances your keyword visibility.

4) advertise your page:

Like every headline at the conventional advertising world, at newspapers, billboards, banners, etc has got a tag line or motto to further explain and promote what’s being introduced at the title, your meta description should contain persuasive phrases or sentences to convince searchers that this result is worth clicking on. It should have a winning factor in it compared to the others, something that makes you different from others and preferable.

5) call to action:

One step beyond implicit persuasion is explicit invitation to take some step. If your powerful meta description provides an intelligent “call to action” statement, not a hype, it enhances your result and makes it stand above the crowd in the SERP. Then, people will certainly click on it as they will find something in it for themselves.

An Example from Google:

Search for the phrase “top beach destinations” at Google and go through the results. The search engine returns two results for this phrase. The indented one has got an irresistible meta description, which says:

Top Destinations: Planning a trip? Come to TripAdvisor first. TripAdvisor’s travel community has written millions of reviews describing their best and worst …

As you can see, the first two words are bold projecting themselves among other words making the meta description more outstanding. Then, it begins with a question, the answer of which is already known: Of course I do. Well, you think to yourself, “It should be what I’m looking for as they’ve written this page for the people like me who want to plan a trip!”

Right after that and immediately, the Call to Action is inserted: Come to TripAdvisor first.

Next, the invitation is supported by a strong reason: … millions of reviews  describing their best and worst …

I think as the persuasion is very strong and the result is positioned above the fold and offers what you want in a compelling manner, you would get automatically led to move your cursor toward its title to click. So, the traffic is attracted. The conversion is up to other factors inside the website.

Now Craft Your Meta Descriptions Accordingly

Remember that meta description doesn’t boost your ranking or conversion by itself, but helps human searchers prefer your result to the others when your top rankings appear at the SERPs.

Now that you know the 5 steps toward a powerful meta description, you can go back to the most important pages of your site first and begin from there to optimize this code at your pages to make sure you can attract more targeted traffic to your pages.

I’ll appreciate it if you share your experiences in this regard and let us know how such improvement has helped your visibility and traffic.