Meta description and title tag are important elements of search engine optimization. These are displayed in the search results list and give the user a first impression of the services and the nature of the website. No matter whether online shop, blog or conventional Internet presence: To ensure that the URL is really clicked and search engine relevant processes are included, meta description and title tag should be designed sensibly. We enlighten you about the correct design of the two elements!
What are Meta-Descriptions and Title Tags?
The two words "Meta-Description" and "Title-Tag" come from the field of search engine optimization. As soon as people use search engines, they are shown the relevant websites in a search results list. To get an insight into the contents of the respective web pages, they are provided with a headline and a short description. The headline is called "Title Tag", the short description is called "Meta-Description" The Meta-Description explains the content of the homepage and is supplemented by the Title-Tag. The meta-description has a high informative value, as it is read by the user and provides initial information. The Google algorithm examines the frequency with which homepages are clicked on in the search results list. With a high-quality meta-description and an interesting title tag, the chance of being clicked on by users can be increased and a better search engine ranking achieved. The content of the two short descriptions should be formulated in such a way that it contains the relevant keywords on the one hand and arouses the interest of potential website visitors on the other. Meta titles and meta descriptions are an important indicator for search engines and social networks. Both elements are displayed in the title bar of the browser and in open tabs. In social networks, both elements are displayed as soon as posts are shared.
The design of meta-descriptions
The meta-description is not used by search engines to calculate the ranking. Therefore the optimal content of the meta-description is in the eye of the viewer or at the discretion of the searcher. Finally, the meta-description is the first indicator for the content of a website. Search engines such as Google specify an optimal length of the meta-description. This should not exceed 156 characters (including spaces). If the meta-description is longer than 156 characters, the rest is truncated by [...]. From a purely technical point of view, the length of a meta-description is not determined by characters, but by the pixel base. The meta-description should be a short representation of the website content. It should be based on the AIDA principle. AIDA is the abbreviation for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. It is important that no general meta-description is created, but rather individual meta-descriptions that are linked to the respective sub-pages of a homepage. Here is an example of a successful meta-description:
[ATTENTION] The first sentence of the meta description should pique the interest of the searcher. For example, it could be "Buy high quality hosting packages". The form of expression evokes encouragement in the subconscious of the reader and reinforces the statement.[INTEREST] The second sentence of the meta description should arouse the interest to buy. This can be designed, for example, as follows: "Buy web hosting packages cheap from the market leader".
[DESIRE] and [ACTION]. The third and last sentence can contain a call to action. This could look like this: "More than 100,000 satisfied customers. Get hosted now." The customer should be encouraged to click on the website by the last sentence.
The Design of Title Tags
The title tag belongs to about 200 factors with which Google calculates the ranking of websites. The title tag is probably one of the most important elements in the optimization of websites. In general, every subpage should have a title tag. The title tag should be designed individually for each URL and must not contain duplicate content. The title tag should contain the keyword with which the subpage should be ranked. An important ranking factor is where the keyword is located. This should be at the beginning of the sentence of the title tag. In addition, the title tag, like the meta-description, should encourage users to click on the website. The optimal title tag consists of a maximum of 55 characters (without spaces), otherwise it is abbreviated by [...]. On a technical level, the title tag should not have more than 512 pixels, since the search engine again does not calculate on a character basis, but on a pixel basis. Regardless of search engine relevant content, the title tag should look natural and offer a real added value for the reader. A mere enumeration of keywords seems unnatural and offers no added value for users. Always remember that it is nice if your website is listed on the first search result pages on Google. But if this website is not clicked because of spam keywords, this will not help. Ideally, the title tag should provide a coherent sentence with some information content. In conjunction with the meta-description, the click rate can be increased considerably.
