Although Google’s algorithms don’t seem to have much use for meta descriptions anymore, that doesn’t make them any less valuable to you as a content creator. Often, a meta description is the first thing a user will see of your site; it’s quite literally the first impression you’ll make on your readers. You need make sure it’s well-written.
Otherwise, you’re very likely to miss out on a significant amount of traffic.
The first piece of advice I’ll give you where your meta description is concerned is to keep it short and concise. Largely, this is due to the character limit Google’s engine places on its search results; anything longer than 160 characters is cropped out. There’s a very good reason for this, of course: the process by which a user on Google decides whether or not to visit a site generally happens in a matter of seconds. They’ll glance at the title, look at the description, and then either click or move on.
Due to the speed at which this happens, anything longer than a sentence or two tends to simply get lost in the noise.
With this in mind, it should also go without saying that your description needs to grab the user’s attention in some way. Ask yourself what users visiting a particular page are going to be looking for, and compose the copy accordingly. Your description should consist of three main components: a description of your page, what the page offers its audience, and some sort of call to action (for example, “50% off for new users”).
Although you do need a decent call to action, the second one is undoubtedly the most important, and probably the most difficult to pull off. Ask yourself what you’d be looking for if you were the user, and do your best to demonstrate that you can offer that. I’d recommend looking at a few competing sites and seeing how they’re describing themselves. Look at their meta descriptions, and write something better.
It’s also vital that you ensure your meta description bears a strong connection to both your page’s title and its topic. While you certainly should avoid keyword stuffing (seriously, that’s probably one of the worst things you can do given how limited a space you’re working with), there needs to be something in your description that ties it to both what you’ve called a page and the sort of content you’ve put on that page. Failure to see to this will lead to a disconnected, boring, and irrelevant meta description.
Above all, keep it conversational. Your meta descriptions should feel natural – as though they’re being narrated to the audience. This is precisely why keyword stuffing is a bad idea, as anything that’s awkward, mechanical, or poorly-written will very likely be skipped over. Write with a friendly tone and keep your language simple and welcoming.
Your meta description is the first thing your audience is going to see. If you don’t put your best foot forward, how will people know you can offer them what they’re looking for? Just like a customer won’t go into a store if the greeter is unwashed, hostile, and inarticulate; people aren’t going to visit a site whose meta description is poorly worded.
Work to make your description a friendly doorman instead of a hostile oaf. Otherwise, people are simply going to visit someone else’s site.