What is Meta Description? Understanding Different Types of Meta Description

A meta description is an HTML tag that is very important in search engine optimization (SEO). It is a summary of the webpage content that is pertinent and appears in the search engine results (SERPS) below the page title and URL.
 
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In this post, we will discuss the specifics of meta description and a few of its various types.

 

Specifics of Meta Description:

A well-written meta description gives users the information that can increase the website’s click-through rate. It should be made sure that meta description describes the content of the web page accurately because search engines, like Google, use the meta description to check the relevance and quality of the web page's content. The description usually has key phrases related to the web page content. It usually consists of 50-160 words. Keywords help the search engine to understand what the web page is related to that can increase the chances of the website appearing in the search results.

It is also very important to make the meta description compelling and informative to encourage the users to click through the web page, and for this clickbait or misleading descriptions should be avoided as that can result in a negative user experience and increased bounce rates. Rather the meta description should be kept accurately reflective of the content of the page and should provide users with a thorough idea of what they can expect to find from the website.

Precisely, the meta description plays an analytical role in the improvement of the visibility and click-through rates of the web page in search engine results. A skillfully written meta description that accurately summarises the content of the page and includes all the relevant keywords to improve the user’s search experience and lead to engagement and increased traffic on the web page. However, based on their content and purpose there are various kinds of approaches for writing meta descriptions.


Different Types of Meta Description:

Meta description has various types to be used on the web page. Let us discuss a few of them;


1. General Meta Description:

The general meta description (also named basic meta description) is the most common type of meta description that concise summary of the content on a webpage that is written to attract users to click through to the website. Its goal is to make the description as appealing as possible to help the users visit the website by giving them a brief overview of what they can expect to find on the website.


2. Call-to-Action Meta Description:

It is a type of meta description that specifically encourage the users to click through the website or take a desired action on the website itself. The CTA can take many forms depending on the goal of the website for example, a service-oriented website might use a CTA meta description that says "Schedule an appointment with our consultant to find out how we can assist you in achieving your goals". It also can be in a short phrase or sentence for example, "learn more", "discover now", "sign up today", or "get started".


3. Feature-Based Meta Description:

It is a type of meta description that concentrates on highlighting particular features or benefits of the content on the webpage. This kind of meta description emphasizes the content’s distinctive selling points and offers the users a compelling reason to click through the website, in its efforts to catch user's attention.

For instance, if a web page offers a product with special features like waterproof or eco-friendly material, and durability, the featured-based meta description could highlight this important selling point, such as "Stay dry in any weather with our waterproof jackets". This kind of description emphasizes the features that distinguish the product from competitors and gives customers care idea of what to expect from the product on the webpage.


4. Comparison-based Meta-Description:

This type contrasts the website’s content with that of other similar websites. So, the users can easily choose among different website choices, as they have a clear understanding of how the content on the website differs from that of the competing website.

For example, for a web page offering services that help users to learn a new language, the comparison-based matter description could highlight how the website services are different from other language learning websites, such as "learn a language faster with our personalized interactive classes". This type of subscription emphasizes the key features that the first the website from other language learning websites and helps to build trust with users by providing them with a clear idea of what to expect from the website’s service.

To pen off, there are a variety of other kinds of meta description, but regardless of the strategy employed it is essential to make sure that the meta description used, accurately reflects the content of the web page and provides a clear and compelling summary to appeal to the users. This can increase engagement and traffic which will subsequently improve the performance of the website.

We hope you find this post informative!

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