No matter what you are interested in during your Google investigation, the results are basically always a URL, the meta title and just the meta description. In short, the meta description is the descriptive text associated with the URL and roughly reflects its content. The meta description is not found on the actual page and is only visible in the search results view. Why it is important to write a good meta description, you will learn in this blog.

What are SERP snippets and why are they important?

If you write a meta description, you cannot ensure that the crawlers (Google’s search tools) will actually check it and thus increase visibility. Nevertheless, it is very important to the big picture, which we will get to in this blog. SERP is the abbreviation for “Search Engine Result Page”, which means search engine results page. The snippet, on the other hand, is the single search result. As a rule, 10 results are displayed on Google, sometimes enriched by shopping results and other things. A SERP snippet is therefore the entire result, which consists of the title, URL and the meta description. Some may ask if the entire SERP snippet can be SEO optimized and the answer is “yes”. A good search engine optimization is even of great importance here and requires some expertise. Search engines arrange the results according to their own logic and these are then clicked, or not. So, each SERP snippet is checked and the results are ordered based on the HTML codes. It is important to keep in mind that all elements that are too long for display will be trimmed: Therefore, if possible, make sure to write them with this knowledge in mind and design them accordingly.

How do I know how good my SEO optimization is?

There are a variety of tools with which you can check whether the SERP snippet fits. For example, you can use these three free online tools:

1. https://www.highervisibility.com/seo/tools/serp-snippet-optimizer/
2. https://app.sistrix.com/de/serp-snippet-generator
3. http://www.serpsimulator.de

The click-through rate can also be measured and will signal to you how interesting the snippet is to users and how well it serves you. The more you increase the click-through rate, the more potential customers will stay on your site.

Is it enough to optimize the snippet?

Clearly no. User behavior also plays a huge role in the ranking and will influence it positively or negatively in your case. The longer someone stays on your page and the more interactions there are on it, the friendlier the algorithm will treat you. If it remains at only one click and the user presses the “Back” button, Google will classify it as less relevant and penalize you for it. If you manage to make the user browse your page with interest, the algorithm will thank you with a higher ranking. An interesting, optimized and perfected website is the key. If you want to improve your SERP snippet, you should consult Google Analytics and study the users’ search behavior. To do this, it’s worth looking at sites with high click-through rates and using them as a guide.

Meta description and user behavior

Most companies spare no expense and effort to create appealing landing pages, forgetting that the meta description is the very first thing that users’ eyes fall on. There is no better way to turn the Google user into a user of your site than a well-written meta description. This must be designed with the awareness that it is the factor used to weigh whether or not the page matches the search query. You write to help the user make their click decision and the text doesn’t show up on your page. However, the Description will be visible in other places, such as various social media platforms. In the HTML code of your website, the title and description tags are placed at the very front and thus ensure that your page is easy to find. Although many other vendors provide you with good SEO plugins, the former solution is the better one.

Practical know-how: How to write a good meta description

First of all, you should know that writing an appealing meta description is not the time to show off your writing talent. It must be short, crisp and written to the point. Your goal is not to be recognized as the new Schiller, but to get as many people as possible to your website and sell. To make this as easy as possible, you have to let your text skills do the talking. It’s not just that you need to generate attention and interest, but you need to stand out from all the other SERP snippets as much as possible. All in all, it is remarkable how much expertise and requirements a meta description demands. The best way to make them attractive is to additionally enrich them with checkmarks and other symbols. If you don’t really trust yourself to write a perfect meta description yet, don’t despair right away: it’s not worth falling into the perfection trap and you’ll see that your description gets better every time. The more often you write, the sooner you’ll get the hang of it and you’ll quickly find a method that suits you. If you can find enough space, you can also think up something funny or fall back on the well-known AIDA formula.

Meta description and SEO

As we have already learned in this blog, Google’s algorithm rewards the quality of user experience, which is something that every website owner should prioritize anyway. With good SEO optimization, the meta description will be the secret weapon that will crown your ranking. Although the meta description has no “mechanical” effect on your ranking, it acts as your badge in Google searches and a handy advertising tool, much like the META title. However, opinions differ on the question of how long it should be: the majority seems to follow the guideline of a maximum of 160 characters, but the pixel width factor is even more essential. Boldness, special characters and checkmarks take up more space than other letters. Currently we have to assume a guideline of 1000 pixels, whereas we at eBakery recommend 800. The most important factor remains that Google does not cut anything away, so you must always pay attention to the visual beauty of your description and try to make it as attractive as possible. However, because there are also meta descriptions with e-commerce tools like Shopware and many more tips and tricks, we invite you to a no-obligation consultation if you still have questions. We are already looking forward to your message!