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
-
80% bounce rate
Hello, I have a website that I have worked hard in developing and have tried to create useful content, however I am getting an 80% bounce rate. Can anyone give me some feedback as to why this might be? The website is www.usconstructionloans.com. Let me know your thoughts - thanks!
Conversion Rate Optimization | | nadylime0 -
Best to Include Phone Number as CTA Button in Mobile Version of B+B Web Site?
We are attempting to keep the number of CTAs (Calls to Action) on our commercial real estate website to a minimum. Our adjusted design (see attached) has 2 CTAs. One is "Contact Agent" the other is "Schedule a Tour". We are focusing on the listing page, which is the primary product page and critical in terms of CTA. Our mobile version does not show a phone number while the desktop version (also attached) displays a phone number. Should the mobile version also display a button a phone number? Some members of our target audiences, business owners and executives who are often in their 40s and 50s may prefer to call us up rather than communicate by written message. Any suggestions for elegantly displaying the phone number without causing confusion? I have read that the number of CTAs should be limited so I am on the fence as to whether or not to include a phone number Thanks,
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Kingalan1
Alan 6yR88Vt WwYpt810 -
Tracking Adwords users who sumbit a contact form after clicking through my Landing page.
I have a user, Jane, who comes to my landing page through an AdWords campaign. She click off my landing page, browses the website, then submits a contact form on one of the other pages on the site. My problem is when I receive the email from the contact form, there is no identification that this user came through adwords. If she had submitted the contact form on my landing page this wouldn't be a problem, but she submitted the form from elsewhere on the site. I know that I can see a NUMBER of how many goal conversions were achieved this way in Analytics. This is not what I want. I need something to identify it on the CONTACT FORM so that the intake staff in my office can credit that lead to the correct campaign. Any idea on how to achieve this. Technically, I am using the latest version of Wordpress and the Contact Form 7 plug-in. I can change plug-ins if needed.
Conversion Rate Optimization | | McShaneFirm0 -
Brand Name: Conversion Rate Optimizing: Eponymous VS Generic
Good day all, We are entertaining the idea of changing the Domain Name & Brand Name for straplessfashion.com. While still in development, the website sells women undergarments. We did some survey research and it seems that women (age 18-40) really liked either "Demi's Dream" or "Almost Skin" as a good name. More specifically, Almost Skin seems to be the more popular choice over "Demi's Dream". I think "Almost Skin" catches attention quicker and may work best in PPC. However, when personalizing a brand name is considered, "Demi's Dream" might be the best choice. Would you please offer your advise on which of these two names might be the best for a new Domain and Brand name for the website mentioned above? Which would convert better? Thank you for your help. Carlos
Conversion Rate Optimization | | 90miLLA0 -
Please Settle a Bounce Rate Debate
Here's the Question: If a person clicks a PPC ad and hits the landing page, and the landing page has a form to fill out embedded in it without having to click, does that count as a bounce if the person leaves the page immediately after filling out and submitting the form or does the submission negate the bounce tally? Hope this makes sense and thanks in advance.
Conversion Rate Optimization | | jesse-landry0 -
Youtube Adwords click/visit discrepancy
We started a Youtube ad campaign. Over 2 days we got 60 clicks. However on our site we only measured 19 clicks. We used Kissmetrics to do the measurement. We're trying to figure out if the problem is on our end, or whether people are clicking but then closing the tab before the Kissmetrics JS loads. We're going to implement adwords conversion tracking to get a second measurement. But I was wondering if anyone else has experienced big gaps in how many people click a Youtube ad and how many actually visit the site. We got about 40 people who viewed the video 100%. I'm hoping bots aren't an issue with Youtube ads.
Conversion Rate Optimization | | lighttable0 -
How important is Conversion Rate Optimisation?
Silly question I know but just wanted to talk about it, more of a discussion then anything. How important is CRO to you? Anyone have any stats before and after? Cheers
Conversion Rate Optimization | | activitysuper0 -
Reviews not shown on google search & seller rating extensions (adwords)
Hello, we have 2 questions, regarding reviews from rating websites. 1. Reviews on google Search We have several reviews for our website www.theprintspace.co.uk from various rating sites (e.g. qype, yelp, remotegoat, etc.). When searching for theprintspace on google, only some reviews and only some rating website are shown, most are not. For qype, for instance, we have 8 reviews, but google only indicates that we have 3. The yelp reviews (and many others) are not shown at all. According to google, it takes a maximum of 2 months for the correct number of reviews to be shown on google, but the reviews have been online for over 2 months now. Is there any way this problem can be solved, so google shows the correct number of reviews? 2. Seller rating extensions on google adwords We would like the reviews to be displayed in our google adwords as a seller rating extension. These will include the merchant star rating for advertisers that are highly rated on Google Product Search. We are setting up a google merchant account to do so. Google says: "Ratings are based on the user reviews collected by Google Product Search, which aggregates reviews from a broad base of sources across the web, including Reseller Ratings, Bizrate, ReviewCentre.com and Viewpoints." Do you know if the following rating website are in google's "base of sources" and will thus be recognised and used in google adwords as rating extensions? Yelp Qype Scoot Remotegoat viewlondon tipped Or does google only source from big e-commerce rating websites? How do we get the ratings into our adwords? Thank you for your help!
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Waplington0