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In our last post we looked at how “on-page” SEO factors are often skimped by web designers and how it usually takes a website audit to unearth them when the owner realises the site isn’t working as expected.<\/p>\nIn our last post we looked at how “on-page” SEO factors are often skimped by web designers and how it usually takes a website audit to unearth them when the owner realises the site isn’t working as expected.<\/p>\n
Following on from our last blog where we discussed how web page titles can make a significant difference to how a website performs in Google, this article takes a look at web page meta descriptions and the role they play in helping to attract website traffic<\/a>.<\/p>\n The meta description is a “hidden” web page element that is used to provide a summary of the content of the page. Whilst the title also does this, the meta description is longer – in fact up to 160 characters. So you have a couple of sentences in which to summarise the visible page content as accurately as possible.<\/p>\n You may wonder why the meta description actually exists; particularly given that the page title is also a mini summary of sorts. Well, when the search results in Google, Bing and other engines are displayed, you will see a several pieces of information displayed. The main ones are the URL (the “www” address), the title and the meta description for the page. Whilst the first two element, the URL and title, are known to be ranking factors, the meta description actually isn’t. So then, why is it still important?<\/p>\n Given that the meta description is highly visible in the search results, even though it isn’t a ranking factor within the Google algorithm, it is still very important in that users will likely read it to determine more about the page they are just about to click through to. So a well written, compelling meta description can be the decider between a searcher clicking on your result rather than the results just above or below it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Becase the meta description is another “hidden” page element i.e. the average website owner wouldn’t necessarily know about it unless they’d been told, lots of web designer simply skimp on them. This can range from adding nothing at all to simply adding maybe 40 or 50 characters rather than exploiting the full potential of the 160 characters available. More recently, Google has started to add their own version of a meta description for your web pages if they don’t find anything suitable there. However, this is no excuse for not adding them properly. Would you prefer to let Google try to cobble something together about your page automatically or would you prefer to describe the page content much more accurately yourself? That one’s quite easy to answer I think.<\/p>\n Let’s use the example of a dental implants page from a hypothetical implant practice in Derby as an example. A suitable meta description might look something like this:<\/p>\n “At Joe Bloggs Dental in Derby, we provide the latest dental implants as a long-term solution for missing teeth. Call now to book your free initial consultation<\/em>”<\/p>\n Use the 160 characters available to accurately reflect the page content and to provide a compelling message to the viewer. As a minimum you should do this for all of the key pages on your website. If you really must skip any, make sure it’s the lesser pages which will be unlikely to add much value from a search engine perspective.<\/p>\n The web page meta description is shown in search results and, when written well, can give you an advantage with click-throughs to your dental website<\/a>. However, you need to watch out for lazy web designers who skimp on them or omit them completely.<\/p>\n If you would like to know more about what’s under the bonnet of your website and how it can affect performance in Google’s search results, please get in touch with Dental Media on 01332 672548<\/strong> for free advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What are they and why are they important for your dental practice website? In our last post we looked at how “on-page” SEO factors are often skimped by web designers and how it usually takes a website audit to unearth …<\/p>\nSo what is a meta description?<\/h3>\n
Beware the lazy web designer<\/h3>\n
What does a suitable meta description look like?<\/h3>\n
Summary<\/h3>\n