Running your own eCommerce business can be a tricky process, all things considered. One piece in particular that can give people some trouble is Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short. Effective eCommerce SEO has many facets and features that play a crucial role in determining your website’s results in the SERPs (search engine result pages).
While Google’s algorithm constantly shifts, calling for adaptability when it comes to the specifics of effective SEO, the core principles of SEO remain the same.
One very important basic core principle would be the writing of effective meta descriptions.
What Are Meta Descriptions?
Meta descriptions are - in a nutshell - meta tags that act as a summarizing description of a webpage. In the search results page, it’s the text that sits just below each page’s title. Typically, Google will show it to highlight that this site/page contains the keyword(s) you were searching for.
While the meta-description isn’t a determining factor in your page’s rank, it offers not only more information for Google to go off of, but also can hook potential visitors into your site. It offers a character limit of roughly around 155, meaning carefully chosen and precise wording is the key to winning your potential customers over.
So how can you make the most out of your meta descriptions?
Write To Compel
A truly effective meta description doesn’t beat around the bush. They jump straight to the heart of the matter and help visitors to reach a decision before they even realize it!
In order to do that, an effective meta-description ultimately answers one question:
What makes you so special?
There are a million-and-one businesses out there offering the same thing you are. What’s to stop a customer from turning to one of your competitors? A well-written meta-description can be the deciding factor. In as few well-chosen words as possible, it should answer what you have to offer, and why your clients should buy it from you.
The what and why can vary, however, depending on where this meta description is going:
- If you’re writing for a product, then you should emphasize your product first and foremost as the what. The why simply falls into place with you being the one selling it.
- If the meta description’s going on your homepage, then you’d want to promote things a little differently. Both the what and why can be answered with your brand. In this case, this is what you want to stand out as unique and why you’re worthy of your customers’ attention.
No matter where your meta description is headed, you’d be wise to keep in mind that now is not the time for subtlety. To that end, taking the time to really think about what would be best for your brand, product, and customers’ attention would be a wise move. If you’re a veteran in the business world, then look to what you customers have said about your business to cue you in on some possibilities. If you’re a new business, then think about what exactly it was with your business that you felt would draw in customers.
Before You Write A Meta Description!
You should realize something very important: not every page needs a meta-description. Firstly, Google can automatically make one by pulling from pages’ contents, so simply optimizing your site in other ways can still provide great meta descriptions. Some sites also have hundreds, even thousands of pages within their website, making the task of writing meta descriptions for all of them difficult, to say the very least!
So how can you judge whether a meta-description is needed for a page or not? The best way to judge is to look at a page’s traffic; write meta descriptions only for the pages in your site with the highest numbers of organic traffic.
In Summary
The keys to writing an effective meta description can be summarized in three principles:
Optimizing your Shopify store can be a simple process, especially if you have the help of someone who understands the ins and outs of eCommerce and SEO. The experts at Gapstow Design specialize in the development of effective, individualized eCommerce solutions. Contact us today to see how we can craft a solution to meet your unique needs!
