Meta-descriptions are one of the last meta-tags that search engines still care about; the extent to which, no one really knows. And while inserting all of your keywords may not help you, a call to action might.

For meta-descriptions (or search engine descriptions, as we lovingly refer to them), I always suggest clients incorporate their contact information – for those searching on smart phones, or simply searching for a way to reach them. More and more, even that may not be enough.

So how can  you really make your search result stand out?

I did a search for nike light running shoes, and found that there are a ton of techniques for trying to entice searchers to click. Disregarding titles, let’s take a look at ways to get searchers to click:

Strategy #1: A really great description

This tactic works incredibly well for individual products – but it could also work well for services too. This particular description incorporates keywords, all the while giving you a good idea of what you’ll find when you click on the result.

Strategy #2: Blog Teaser

In this case, sure, we know there’s going to be a bit of a product pitch; but what better way to research which shoe to buy than comparing them?

Strategy #3: Customer Reviews

Similar to Google’s new(ish) rich snippets, the page this result points to is specifically devoted to reviews for this shoe. Pretty powerful stuff.

Strategy #4: Discounts, discounts, discounts!

Who doesn’t love a discount? Or free shipping? Or both??

Strategy #5: Show me the money

Similarly, a popular strategy is displaying the price of the product or service directly within the meta-description. If that doesn’t entice the “right” people (those who will buy) and deter the wrong people (those who won’t), I don’t know what will. Furthermore, consumers can literally compare prices right from the Google search results.

Strategy #6: What’s the benefit?

Again, great for both products and services – why would someone want to (in this case) buy from you?

Now, obviously these results are for deeper level pages, hence more description and more detailed strategies. But the same goes for your upper level pages; what’s your call-to-action?

The fact is, regardless of whether meta-descriptions help you from an SEO standpoint, they’ll certainly entice searchers to click.

What strategies have you seen or used with meta-descriptions?

Nicki Hicks
Reliving the track & field glory days