What is a meta description? How to write effectively for SEO!

What is meta description A meta tag that is marked up within the HTML head tag to indicate the outline of a web page.
In the content attribute of this meta tag, write text information that indicates the outline (summary) of the web page.

Also, writing a meta description does not have a direct SEO effect.
However, you can expect an increase in click-through rate in search.

On the other hand, even if you write a meta description, your CTR may be low in search.
In this case, it may be due to rewriting, rewriting, or a change in the number of characters displayed in search, so consider optimizing your meta description again.

By the way, even if you don’t set a meta description, it’s automatically generated by Google.

Based on this point, this time, I would like to explain the points that are easy for beginners to understand, focusing on the definition of the meta description, the number of characters, how to write it, and the timing of optimization.

What is a meta description?

What is meta description A meta tag that is marked up within the HTML head tag to indicate the outline of a web page.
Also known as a “snippet”.
In the content attribute of this meta tag, write text information that indicates the outline (summary) of the web page.

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<meta name=”description” content=”This is a blog dedicated to SEO that summarizes everything from basic knowledge of SEO to practical methods in an easy-to-understand manner for beginners. To put it a little more, our company , which operates the infowikiz, has been around for more than 2 years. We publish the latest SEO information that incorporates our own highly accurate SEO know-how (experimental analysis data, etc.) that we have cultivated.” />

By indexing the HTML file marked up in this way, the contents of the meta description will be displayed in the search results.

Read Also: What is pagination? About how to make and implement

Benefits of having a meta description

There are several benefits of setting up a meta description.

Expected to improve click-through rate in search

Setting the meta description You can expect an increase in click-through rate in search.
For example, write a summary sentence considering the title name of the web page and the content content.
If you can appeal well, the response of search users will increase.
As a result, your click-through rate will increase in search results.

No direct SEO effect

Setting up a meta description and writing a summary of your web page will not help you rank higher or lower.
in short, There is no direct SEO effect.

Here’s Google’s official statement on this.

By the way, as a similar meta tag, meta keywords are often talked about.
These meta keywords are not used for ranking either.

What happens if you don’t set a meta description?

In this way, the meta description is basically a mechanism that is automatically acquired.
On the other hand, let’s say that Google has determined that an independently written overview (explanation) can provide a more accurate explanation to users than information that can be obtained automatically.
In this case, your self-written synopsis will be adopted as the meta description.

How to set meta description

There are several ways to set your meta description.

Write directly to HTML

How to set meta description Write directly to HTML.

For example, manually open the HTML file with a dedicated editor.
Find the head tag in the opened HTML file and mark up the meta tag inside the head tag.
If you simply write “description” in the attribute value of the name attribute in the meta tag and “text that outlines the web page” in the attribute value of the contents attribute, you can set the meta description.

1	<meta name=”description” content=”The meta description has no impact on SEO, but it is also displayed in search results, so it is one of the important elements when considering CTR. In this article, Learn more about the proper word count and how to write effectively.”/>

Thus, writing directly to HTML is how you set up your meta description.

Use WordPress plugins

How to set meta description Use WordPress plugins.

For example, we introduce dedicated plugins such as “All in one seopack” and “Yoast SEO”.
In this case, you can use the function that allows you to set the meta description.
With that function, you can set the meta description by writing the “text that outlines the web page”.

Thus, using a WordPress plugin is how you set up your meta description.

Tips for writing a meta description

Here are some tips for writing meta descriptions.

Fit within the number of characters displayed in search results

The number of meta description characters displayed in the search results is about 130 characters for PC searches and about 80 characters for smartphone searches.
To accommodate the number of characters on both devices, Write a meta description that fits within the number of characters displayed in mobile search results.
That way, both desktop and mobile search results will reveal more important parts of the web page overview.
As a result, the content content can be appealed to search users on both devices, so we can expect an improvement in the click-through rate.

Thus, taking into account the number of characters that appear in search results is the key to writing meta descriptions.

On the other hand, if you don’t consider the number of characters that appear in search results, you may miss important parts of the web page synopsis.
This will lead to lower quality meta descriptions and lower click-through rates in search.

Enter target keyword

To enter the target keyword, Consider dosage.
For example, if the target keyword is “SEO”, write a meta description that includes about 3 words of “SEO” in a well-balanced manner so that they are scattered at the beginning, in the middle of the sentence, and at the end.
That way, you can improve search queries and relevance.
As a result, it is possible to attract the attention of searchers, which leads to an improvement in click-through rate.

In this way, inserting countermeasure keywords is the key to writing a meta description.

On the other hand, if you cram too many keywords, your meta description may not be accepted.

Additionally, you will be penalized if your keyword abuse violates Google guidelines.

When this happens, you run the risk of lower click-through rates in search.
In the worst case, the quality of the site itself may deteriorate and it may become difficult to be evaluated by Google.

Make it unique

To write unique content, First, you need to create a page with a unique theme.

For example, select an SEO keyword that is not covered by other pages on the site and create a web page specialized for that SEO keyword.
That way, you won’t have any duplication, and you’ll end up with a unique web page on your site.
If you write a summary along the contents of the finished web page, you can naturally make it a unique meta description.
As a result, the user’s convenience improves and the quality of the site improves, so it becomes easier to be evaluated by Google.

Thus, making it unique is the key to writing meta descriptions.

On the other hand, the more pages you have on the same theme, the more likely you are to write duplicate meta descriptions.
Such duplication reduces user convenience.
If that happens, not only will the click-through rate drop, but the quality of the site will also drop, making it difficult to be evaluated by Google.

Consider user search intent

To write with the user’s search intent in mind, Consider trends of top competitor sitesTo do.

For example, first, create your own web page by incorporating the trends (title name and content content) of the top competing sites that are displayed by searching with the keyword (SEO keyword) you want to be displayed at the top.
This will create a web page that contains the information the user wants (the user’s search intent).
If you write an overview along the contents of the finished web page, it will naturally become a meta description that takes into account the user’s search intent.
Also, such meta descriptions tend to include moderate SEO keywords.
As a result, the search query and relevance will increase, so the search user’s response will increase, and you can expect an improvement in the click-through rate.

Thus, taking into account the user’s search intent is the key to writing meta descriptions.

On the other hand, not considering the user’s search intent will lead to content quality degradation before the meta description’s search intent is taken into account.
If so, you won’t be able to expect a direct SEO effect.

When to Consider Optimizing Your Meta Description

The main time to consider optimizing your meta description is when you rewrite it.
Also, when Google rewrites or changes the number of characters in a snippet displayed in search results, it’s time to consider optimizing your meta description.

When rewritten

When the search ranking declines and does not return, Rewrite the target page.
For example, let’s say that the keyword or theme (title name) of the target page has been changed significantly, and the content has been rewritten accordingly.
In this case, you should also review the page synopsis and update the meta description to align with the changed content.

In this way, when you rewrite, it’s time to consider optimizing your meta description.

By the way, let’s say that you add a little bit or correct it and rewrite it without changing the countermeasure keywords, theme, or content content significantly.
In this case, the page description doesn’t change much, so there’s less need to consider optimizing the meta description.

When rewritten

If you don’t give an accurate overview of your page, It can be rewritten by Google.
For example, the context in the content may describe the page more accurately than the page summary you thought up and wrote yourself.
In this case, Google automatically captures the context of your content.
The snippet then displays the rewritten meta description in that context.
This can affect your click-through rate in search.
If your click-through rate goes up, you’re in luck, but if your click-through rate goes down, you’ll need to rethink your meta description.

In this way, when it is rewritten, it is the timing to optimize the meta description.

When the number of characters displayed in search results changes

by Google’s algorithm The number of characters displayed in the search results will change.
For example, regular algorithm updates will display assets such as thumbnail images and blog post update dates around snippets in search results.
In this case, those assets will fill the limited space and reduce the number of characters displayed in the snippet.
If this happens, important wording in the page summary will be omitted, resulting in a lower response for searchers and possibly a lower click-through rate.
If your click-through rate drops, you need to revisit your meta description.

When the number of characters displayed in search results changes like this, it’s time to optimize your meta description.

Summary: Optimize Your Meta Descriptions to Increase CTR in Search

Meta descriptions have no direct SEO effect.
but,You can get an indirect SEO effect by improving your click-through rate.

To do this, first check your CTR trends in Search Console.

• content quality
• Snippet quality (title and description)

These are mainly related to CTR.
If your CTR is trending downward, identify and optimize for one of your engagements.
If snippet quality is the culprit, optimizing meta descriptions will be a higher priority.

Also, it is a good idea to consider the click-through rate by search ranking, which is regularly published by overseas specialized research companies.

In this way, analyzing, making hypotheses, and optimizing meta descriptions to increase click-through rates are important for SEO measures.