How To Write The Perfect Meta Title And Description For Small Businesses
When you are trying to improve your SEO, you probably have heard about a meta title and description. Optimizing them will increase your rankings and your CTR. But how do you write the perfect meta title and description? In this article, we’ll discuss what defines a good meta title and description, and the steps to create a great meta title and description.
If you’re serious about improving your website’s SEO, I recommend you read my on-page SEO guide which covers every on-page detail you need to know.
What defines a perfect meta title and description
Meta title
The meta title is the clickable headline you see in the search results. Optimizing this will not only get you higher in rankings, but will also improve your CTR (click-through rate).
This is what defines a strong meta title:
- Clear description of what you offer
- Use of your primary keyword (preferably at the beginning)
- Between 30-60 characters
- Unique meta title for each page
Meta description
The meta description is the part just under your meta title. You can describe your offer a bit more in detail here to encourage the searchers to click on your page.
This is what defines a strong meta description:
- A short summary of what you offer (no clickbaiting)
- Focused on the benefits for the searchers
- Between 70-155 characters
- Use of a CTA
- Includes your primary keyword
- Matches the content on your page
Steps to create a perfect meta title
It’s time to create the perfect meta title step-by-step according to the core rules described above. Here is how you do it:
- Add your primary keyword at the start of your meta title
- Highlight the value of your page/offer
- Keep it within 30-60 characters
- Tip: Use long-tail variations
1. Add your primary keyword at the start of your meta title
Placing your primary keyword you have chosen during your keyword research at the beginning of your title is important. This tells Google and visitors what your page is exactly about and makes your page immediately visible.
Including your primary keyword increases your chances that Google will bold that phrase, which drives more attention to your result.
This way, you can compete with larger brands and websites that have already established a certain authority.
2. Highlight the value of your page/offer
Once your keyword is placed naturally in the title, it’s time to highlight the value of your page. This will help visitors and search engines understand your page’s content. Plus, it will boost the CTR.
This focus on value will filter out the wrong clicks and attract the right visitors, who will stay longer, interact with your content, and might even convert.
3. Keep it within 30-60 characters
Keeping your meta title between 30-60 characters is, from experience, the sweet spot. This makes sure your title won’t be cut off and it’s not too short to add enough points of value to convince the searchers.
Keeping it short and clear, makes your result easier to scan and more attractive to click on. This length should be enough to target your main keyword, plus the value of your page.
4. Tip: use long-tail variations
Long-tail keywords often have less competition. Make sure your main keyword has enough value and low-competition. To help your page rank for multiple keywords, add these long-tail variations. Your page will be visible for more queries and will probably rank higher on these longer queries.
Certainly, for small businesses, these long-tail keywords are gold. They have fewer searches, but people who are searching for these are ready to convert. This makes it very interesting.
Steps to create a perfect meta description
After creating the meta title, it’s time to create the perfect meta description. Here is how you do it:
- Include primary keyword & LSI-variants
- Answer key questions
- Explain benefits
- Add a CTA
- Keep within 70-155 character range
1. Include primary keyword & LSI-variants
Including your primary keyword in your meta description helps users and search engines understand your page’s content better. This extra relevance often results in a higher position in search results.
Adding LSI-keywords will only make your result more visible with more search queries.
Including these keywords results in higher visibility and trust that your page is exactly what the searcher needs and that you can solve their problem.
2. Answer key questions
A solid description feels like this page has the solution for your question or might even solve the question itself. If your description speaks directly to that question, your CTR will increase as people feel like you speak to them.
To do this the right way, write down all the questions your content solves before you write your description. Then, turn the most important one or two questions into a little description. You show with your description that the answer is directly behind the click. It feels like the next step in their search journey.
This will reduce random clicks and will attract the right visitors.
3. Explain benefits
Most descriptions talk about the features of their page/offer, but searchers want to know how your offer will benefit their life. They are only interested in what they gain from it.
Ask yourself what your page/offer will change for your reader. This could be more sales, more leads, more visitors, … This gives your readers a higher motivation to click on your page.
4. Add a CTA
People always need a “what to do next,” so you’ll need to give it to them. That’s why a CTA is so important. People need to know they should click your page to get an answer to their problem. Think of it as a mini invitation to check out your website.
You guide the searchers to your page. Even on your page, you need to have a CTA. For example, if you have a blog post, add a CTA in the blog post that tells them what they to do after reading it.
Over time, this will increase your CTR and bring visitors who are ready to read, buy, or just take action in general.
5. Keep within 70-155 character range
From experience, the sweet spot for your meta description is between 70-155 characters. This gives you enough space to add all of the above without getting cut off. If you go too short, you miss opportunities to convince the searcher.
You can always test various meta descriptions to see which performs better over time.
