Google uses the original meta descriptions for 30% of the listed web pages

A new study finds that Google uses the meta descriptions of web pages about 30% of the time for pages on the first page of search results.

For the other 70%, Google rewrites the description based on the content of the listed web page. The higher the search volume of a keyword, the less likely Google is to rewrite the meta description.

30% meta descriptions

According to the study, you should keep meta descriptions between 150 and 160 characters for regular pages. Blog posts, as well as other pages that are listed with a date in the search results, should use descriptions that have between 138 to 148 characters. The most important information should appear within the first 100 characters of the description.

How to write good meta descriptions

The description that appears on a search results page has the most significant impact on the decision to click a result. Optimized descriptions help you to increase the number of clicks that your listings get. Read this article to learn how to get more clicks with optimized descriptions.

Google will rewrite the description of your web page if they find that the meta description of your pages is not good enough. For that reason, it is important to create good meta descriptions:

1. Keep your description short

Although Google sometimes displays longer descriptions, it’s usually best to use short descriptions that do not use more than 160 characters. The meta description length on mobile for snippets with a publication date is between 95 to 105 characters. Quickly get to the point in your descriptions.

2. Answer questions in the description

Many searches on Google are related to a particular question. Try to answer that question in the web page description. Google also uses pages that answer questions for featured snippet listings. Remove a small part of the answer from the description so that people have a reason to click your listing.

3. Be emotional

Include emotional words in your meta descriptions. ‘Powerful‘ descriptions with ‘enormous‘ benefits and ‘unparalleled‘ results will get you more clicks. Try to create curiosity, joy, urgency, etc.

4. Tell your website visitors what to do

A strong call-to-action in the description text can lead to many more clients. For example, use sentences such as ‘Get your free trial now’ or ‘You can save $10 if you order today’ in your description.

5. Use different descriptions on different pages

Each page on your web page should have its own description. Using the same description on all pages is not a good idea. In that case, it’s better not to use the meta description tag at all. Use targeted descriptions on your web pages to maximize the number of clicks that your listing will get.

6. Try to get listed with a rich result

Rich results are results with images, ratings, additional links, etc. These results stand out on Google’s results page. To get listed as a rich result, the page must contain structured data code. The Rich Results Creator tool in SEOprofiler helps you to create structured data code quickly and easily.

Optimize your web page meta descriptions now

Now is the best time to optimize your web page descriptions. The sooner you start to optimize your pages, the sooner you will start to see more website visitors. The SEO tools in SEOprofiler help you to improve your rankings:

Try SEOprofiler now

Tom Cassy

Tom Cassy is the CEO of SEOprofiler. He blogs about search engine optimization and website marketing topics at “http://blog.seoprofiler.com”.