Thoughts on meta descriptions - best click through rates
-
Hi All,
I recently heard a tip from a prominent SEO'r that meta tags should be custom written by professional copywriters. Well, I want to head down that path.
What are your thoughts on these two options:
Buy the top-selling <xyz product="">. 20 year warranty, 30 day money guarantee + free, fast shipping! Includes <1-2 features or included accessories of product></xyz>
or
Buy our top-rated <xyz product="">today</xyz> & save! Over 20 5-star rated reviews + free, fast shipping! Includes <1-2 features or included accessories of product>
Would you focus on the warranty, reviews, product accessories, money back guarantee, free shipping over a certain cutoff, customer service (which we have a toll free number for) or another factor? Are there any good articles out there outlining this? Do you think the way I've structured it is good/readable? What about the use of '+' instead of '&'?
Is the cutoff limit still 156 chars?
Any thoughts/views/ideas are most appreciated! Thanks
-
Hi Daniel,
We eventually went with:
With rave reviews and 20 year warranty, Swiss-made Bamix blenders are the very best. Buy today and enjoy personal service, free shipping and money back guarantee!
This way it illustrates why you should choose that product and why you should shop with us, plus a call to action in the sense of "Buy now..."
Thanks
-
Specific model name or number for blender is not important in the page description. But it might t well be used in the page title. And I always try to write different descriptions for each page -- even if it's just a minor variation. For titles, of course, it's crucial there be no duplication.
-
Yep - I like that one. Only question is, do you think it matters that the individual product name is not in the meta tag? I.e. the example you just gave would then be the same for all Bamix blenders we stock.
Thanks again!
-
You're definitely on the right track. A few comments:
- As a consumer, I'm not sure I care the blender is preferred by chefs. Could actually be a turn off: it's more blender than I need for home use. I'd prefer a cheaper one. So, no thanks.
-I also don't care that this blender is the most popular. The issue is whether it's right for me.
Maybe something like:
With rave reviews and a 20 year warranty, Swiss-made Bamix blenders are the very best. So is our personal service. We include free shipping and a money back guarantee!
-
Awesome responses guys, thanks!
Daniel - if I am talking about a 'Bamix Classic Blender 140W' for instance, with the following features/attributes:
- 36% off RRP
- Includes chopping blade and bench stand
- 20 year warranty
- Made in Switzerland
- 23 reviews for this product, 20 of them being 5 star (other 3 were 4 star)
As well as our standard 'across the site' features:
- Free shipping over $100 (this product is over $100)
- 30 day money back guarantee
- Best customer service in the industry (yes, we do actually have the best service and dont just claim to)
Could I use something like:
- Bamix Blenders are the best in the world. Swiss-made with a 20 year warranty, find out why the Bamix Classic Blender 140W is preferred by professional chefs
- Made in Switzerland for 55 years, Bamix blenders are the best in the world. With a 20yr warranty, find out why the Bamix Classic Blender 140W is so popular!
- Swiss-made Bamix blenders are built to last. With rave reviews, a 20yr warranty and free shipping, find out why they are our most popular blenders!
Or do you have any other ideas?
Once again, thanks guys. Really appreciate it!
-
I agree. With that in mind, I'd rewrite as:
**Anytown Fitness | Anytown, NY Gym and Fitness | Boot Camp **
Get you in the best shape of your life, no matter who you are. **Anytown Fitness: **Caring, supportive environment, rave reviews. Try us!
and if there was a $59 a month special, I might hold off on that info.
**Anytown Fitness | Anytown, NY Gym and Fitness | Boot Camp **
Get you in the best shape of your life, no matter who you are. Anytown Fitness: great staff who care about you. Just $59 per month. Find out why we get rave reviews.
-
I personally like the 'Find out why' bit, adds a bit of intrigue and makes me want to click through.
Not sure if its just me but when I scan through the SERPs I generally only read the first sentence or less of the description. With this in mind I would want to put my best statements first to ensure I grasp the audience and lue them in without them reading the whole description.
-
Both of your examples could be greatly improved. Way too many numbers. And you're trying too hard to cram too much stuff in. You need more focus. Far too many page descriptions read like transcripts of cheesy used car commercials.
You have to consider how page descriptions look -- and work -- in conjunction with page titles. Words in the page title that are repeated in the page description are bolded.
I generally hand craft page descriptions for each page that make my client stand out from the competition.
My first draft might look something like this.
Example 1
**Anytown Fitness | Anytown, NY Gym and Fitness | Boot Camp **
**A****nytown Fitness **will get you in the best shape of your life, no matter who you are. Caring, supportive environment, rave reviews. Try us!
Example 2
Widget People | Custom Widgets and Doodads | Googas Save up to 70% when our certified widget makers lovingly handcraft yourdoodads & googas. Family- run company, rave reviews. Find out why.
I'd then throw the descriptions into a character counter and refine. In Example 2, I might eliminate "Find Out Why" and sub "great service" to make the final phrase: "Family run company, great service, rave reviews."
Of course, I would never talk about rave reviews unless we had the Yelp and Google and other reviews to support the claim.
And I'd only use the & if I was short of space. I'd use + only in something like 500+ widget styles.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Best Practices: Mobile & Desktop Ad Design for Adwords?
Is it possible to have Google Adwords display different page versions according to whether an advertisement will be displayed on a mobile or desktop device? We are a commercial real estate brokerage based in New York City. Most converting website use desktop rather than mobile. We are considering advertising on Google Adwords. Is it possible to have Google serve a more elaborate form of desktop landing page but have Google serve a stripped down version to mobile users? The stripped down version would be created using Instapage. From a technical perspective how would we create a more elaborate desktop version and have Google distinguish between the two? In our experience, mobile converts much less. How much less should we bid for keywords displaying on mobile? Thanks!
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Kingalan1
Alan0 -
Google showing in snippets last individual rating instead of aggregate rating
the product pages of my ecommerce site contain schema markup.
Conversion Rate Optimization | | lcourse
according to rich snippet tool from google all looks fine and properly formatted
however in the SERP google shows the last rating in the snippet instead of the aggregate rating. any idea how to show the aggregate ratings? URL: https://www.humidordiscount.co.uk/adorini-triest-deluxe-rosewood-humidor below extract of schema code as recognized by the rich snippet tool: Product name:adorini Triest Deluxe Rosewood Humidor image:https://www.humidordiscount.co.uk/952-large_atch/adorini-triest-deluxe-rosewood-humidor.jpg description:High-quality multiple ..... brand [Organization]: name:Adorini offers [Offer]: price:141 priceCurrency:GBP availability:http://schema.org/InStock aggregateRating [AggregateRating]: worstRating:1 ratingValue:4.5 bestRating:5 ratingCount:460 review [Review]: description:It 's my first .... reviewRating [Rating]: ratingValue:4 worstRating:1 bestRating:5 author [Thing]: name:Alessandro M review [Review]: description:excellent ... reviewRating [Rating]: ratingValue:5 worstRating:1 bestRating:50 -
Any Reports on Conversion Rate Drops in 2014?
I'm looking for some reports about conversion rate changes over the past year as well as any trends you may have noticed about ecommerce conversion rates because we are seeing something quite odd. We are seeing a large drop in overall conversion rates on some sites I manage this year despite seeing significant revenue growth. When I looked through the stats I found something interesting. Our conversion rates have actually increased on each of the three device types (desktop, tablet and mobile) but because there is a huge surge in visits from mobile devices (the device with the lowest conversion rates) and a large decline in vistis from our top convertor (desktop) our overall conversion rates are down. This is especially troubling to me because my bonus was based on increasing conversion rates and I could use some help from you to see if others in the industry are facing this issue or not. Thanks
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Damascity0 -
Looking for UK based Conversion Rate Optimization Expert for PPC Landing Pages
Hi, Could anyone recommend a very good conversion rate optimization expert that can: -redesign existing landing pages using responsive twitter bootstrap -split test using optimizely or other tool Thanks, Dwayne
Conversion Rate Optimization | | deelo5550 -
CRO - Who are the best sources on this topic?
I've got a good handle on SEO and am starting to offer my clients CRO services to optimize on the traffic I'm bringing to their websites. I know the basics of CRO, but have no idea where to look online for authoritative websites on the subject. What are some of your recommendations on websites to take advice from?
Conversion Rate Optimization | | reidsteven750 -
Suggestions for Conversion Rate Optimization low cost companies?
Does anyone have a list of suggestions for lower cost companies to do conversions. I am a new business and just wanted my "Cart" check out with maybe some suggestions for improvement and a little testing to see if it is done correctly. Thank you, Boo
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Boodreaux0 -
Best Practices in Choose The Right "Meta Description Tag"
Hi there! In the "Meta Description Tag" we use some relevant-descriptive-useful-for-the-users keywords and we keep the length about 155 characters. In your opinion guys, is a good idea to add at the end of the "Meta Description Tag" a strong "call to action"? Maybe with some capital letter? Does it sound strange to Google? Even if this improve the Click Through on the SERPs? What are the best SEO practice to deal with "Meta Description Tag"?
Conversion Rate Optimization | | YESdesign0 -
What company/person do you recommend for improving conversion rates on landing pages?
Hello! I'm looking for specific recommendations of companies with whom you have been "Tickled pink at fantastic conversion improvement results!" I'm the customer for this service. 🙂 I seek a page-level review of a specific area of my site. I'm looking for output of specific recommendations for improving conversion rates. I want to avoid paying for a "generic best practices report" with one or two ideas for my site sprinkled in. I realize that I will be called to complete proper input into the process. I am ready to do my share with the level of detail required. So, if you have an enthusiastic recommendation, please share. Details are appreciated. Most important, please tell me why this company made you very happy. I sincerely look forward to SEOMozzer input. Thank you kindly, Loren
Conversion Rate Optimization | | groovykarma0