{"id":27735,"date":"2020-09-21T09:02:09","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T16:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iteratemarketing.com\/?p=27735"},"modified":"2020-09-21T09:03:21","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T16:03:21","slug":"what-is-a-meta-description-and-how-do-we-use-it-for-our-local-clinic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iteratemarketing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-meta-description-and-how-do-we-use-it-for-our-local-clinic\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Meta Description? [And How Do We Use It For Our Local Clinic?]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A sure-fire way of staying ahead in a competitive niche, such as that of TMS therapy clinics, is focusing on building a strong online presence for your business by doing SEO (search engine optimization). And one of the many SEO attributes is the meta description \u2013 a simple, yet crucial element that can help attract potential patients to your website. But what is a meta description?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll discuss what the meta description tag is, its significance for your TMS therapy clinic, and the right way of crafting one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s jump right in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Meta Description?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The meta description is an HTML element that briefly describes a webpage on a SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Search engines like Google and Bing display this description just below the page title so that the searchers can get an idea of what that webpage is about and see if it\u2019s exactly what they\u2019re looking for before clicking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A meta description can directly impact the CTR (click-through rate) of a webpage, which is the ratio of people who actually open a page to those who simply view it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The HTML code snippet for a meta description looks like this (this meta description example is for the homepage of a TMS clinic\u2019s website):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the SERPs, it looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Google<\/a> does not consider meta descriptions as direct ranking factors (i.e. it doesn\u2019t directly use meta tags to determine the rankings of web pages). However, as discussed above, the meta description can greatly impact the CTR of a webpage, which can directly improve the page\u2019s ability to rank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Optimal Length of a Meta Description?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The ideal meta description length is between 50-160 characters. Search engines often cut off bits that exceed this character limit (>160). Therefore, keep it short and straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it should be descriptive and relevant to the content of your landing page to drive more clicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meta description helps the searchers decide whether the page content fulfills the answers to their search query or not. The catch for the webmaster is to write compelling, active, and unique meta descriptions that must employ the focus keywords. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Add a Meta Description on WordPress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s fairly easy to add or edit meta descriptions if you\u2019re on WordPress. All you need is an SEO plugin called \u201cYoast SEO.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Click on Add New <\/strong>button to create a new post\/page. <\/li>
  2. Scroll down the page. At the end of the editor, you\u2019ll see a section for Yoast SEO. Click on Edit snippet<\/strong>.<\/li>
  3. Add or edit your meta description here.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re not on WordPress, and you wish to write custom meta descriptions, you may need to dive into the HTML source code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How to Craft a Great Meta Description? (SEO Best Practices)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Meta descriptions can (indirectly) influence the organic search rankings of a webpage and the user experience of a searcher. Considering that, you can\u2019t compromise on their quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some tips that will help you write compelling meta descriptions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Make Your Copy Valuable and Actionable <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Writing a snappy, actionable, and motivating copy is the first step towards creating a good meta description. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Furthermore, add a call-to-action to it to spark some curiosity in the reader\u2019s mind. Invitations like \u201cFind out more,\u201d \u201cGet it now,\u201d \u201cRead on,\u201d etc. might compel the readers to click on the link. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Avoid Using Double Quotation Marks<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Google truncates the text at double quotation marks while displaying the meta description on SERP. Therefore, avoid using any non-alphanumeric characters while writing yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        However, if it\u2019s important to use them in the HTML of a meta description, use HTML Entities<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. Avoid Using Duplicate Meta Descriptions<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Duplicate meta descriptions for multiple webpages will hamper the user experience because all the webpages will appear to be the same in google search. This often happens with automatically generated webpages.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \"Meta<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          The only solution is to create a unique meta description for each page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          1. You Don\u2019t Always Have to Write a Meta Description<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            There\u2019s no substitute to creating your own meta descriptions. However, sometimes it\u2019s wiser to omit including them in your page\u2019s HTML and let the search engines do the magic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Remember the following rule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            If you\u2019re targeting less than four heavily searched terms, create your own meta description and target the users specifically using these search terms\/ phrases in their search queries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            If not, let the search engines scrape all the relevant keywords and present it to the reader based on their search intent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            However, there\u2019s one downfall to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, etc. use meta description as the caption of the post (when it\u2019s shared on these channels). If a webpage doesn\u2019t have any meta description, these sites pick out the first text they can find, which might not be relevant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Thanks to Yoast, you can create separate meta descriptions for Facebook and Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Wrapping it Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            You need an effective digital marketing strategy to stand out from your competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            No matter how insignificant writing meta descriptions may sound, it can greatly impact your SEO, help cultivate a viable online presence of your TMS clinic, and attract qualified traffic to your website.<\/p>\n