How to Write a Meta Description Using AI
Learning how to write a meta description is an essential part of becoming a freelance writer. Good meta descriptions help content rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) and boost your client’s overall website traffic. But you don’t need to spend hours crafting the perfect meta description. AI writing tools can help you write them, leaving you more time to focus on refining the main part of your content.
In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about meta descriptions. We’ll explore the impact they have on SEO results and how to best leverage AI to create them. Keep reading to get started.
What Is a Meta Description?
A meta description is a brief summary of the content of a webpage that appears in SERPs below the title and URL. It serves as a preview snippet that provides users with information about what they can expect to find on the web page if they click on the search result. They should be comprehensive and descriptive, but also relatively short – typically between 50 and 160 characters.
As a content writer, you may be tasked with writing meta descriptions along with your main content. So, it pays to be familiar with what they’re for and the best practices for writing them. Next, let’s take a look at how meta descriptions impact SEO and how to write an effective one using AI tools.
Do Meta Descriptions Affect SEO?
While meta descriptions don’t directly impact search engine rankings, they can influence click-through rates, which indirectly affect SEO performance. Essentially, the more enticing the meta description, the more likely a reader is to click through and read the main content (a significant goal for many freelance writing clients).
Given the hundreds of results that can appear when a user inputs a search term, it’s important that your content stands out. A strong meta description goes a long way to helping distinguish an article or website from the competition.
How to Write a Meta Description Using AI
To write an effective meta description, you need to follow certain best practices to ensure that it accurately represents the content of the web page and encourages users to click on the search result. When writing a meta description, you should aim to:
- Be concise: Keep meta descriptions brief to ensure the entire description is visible on the page and doesn’t get cut off.
- Keep it relevant: Make sure the meta description is relevant to the content the reader will find on the page, so they know what to expect before clicking through to the content.
- Highlight a unique selling point: To grab the reader’s attention, focus on highlighting the key benefits or unique selling points of the content.
- Include a call to action: Encourage readers to take action and click on the webpage by using compelling language, such as “learn more” or “shop now.”
- Avoid reusing descriptions: Each meta description should be unique to the specific webpage it represents. Avoid using the same meta description for multiple pages, as this can result in confusion for users and may negatively impact SEO.
While every meta description should include these elements, you can use AI to speed up the writing process. Below are some tips to keep in mind when using AI writing tools to help you write a meta description:
1. Choose the Right AI Tool
There are several AI-powered content generation tools available that are suitably designed to help create meta descriptions. Popular ones include ChatGPT, Copy.ai, Writesonic, and Jasper.
2. Provide a Detailed Prompt
The more detailed your prompt, the better results you’ll get from the AI tool. Provide it with a brief description or summary of the web page content or article, including key points, important keywords, and any specific instructions or requirements, such as the preferred dialect or word count. For more targeted results, include the audience your piece is aimed toward.
3. Evaluate Your Results and Adjust
Keep in mind that your initial results are just a starting point – you should carefully evaluate the responses to ensure they’re accurate, flow well, and match the content of the web page. You can then adjust your prompt to add clarifying details or fill in any gaps in the original response.
For example, if the tone of voice of the meta description is too informal, you can ask the AI tool to eliminate slang and exclamation marks and use a more business-like tone. Without starting a new “chat,” continue to revise your prompt until you’ve received several results you can work with. Ideally, you’ll be able to combine the most effective elements from all of them.
4. Optimize for SEO
Check that the relevant keywords are incorporated naturally in the meta description, but avoid keyword stuffing, which can impact readability and drag down your SEO score. Review the meta description provided by AI and humanize the content if necessary. For example, if it’s monotonous, make it more rhythmic to encourage users to click on it. If you pique the user’s interest with a catchy meta description, they’ll be more engaged and curious about the main content.
3 Great Meta Description Examples
How can you tell when a meta description is effective? Below are some real-life examples of meta descriptions and why they work:
1. Uses Clear and Concise Language
This example shows one of the top Google results for the search query “inexpensive travel”:
As you can see, it clearly states what the article is about and what the reader will see when they click through to the page. The description is concise, and there’s no ambiguity as to what the content entails.
2. Emphasizes Value
This example of a meta description for an article on dinner recipes uses engaging language to catch the reader’s attention:
It also highlights the unique benefits the reader will get by visiting the page and smoothly incorporates the keyword phrase “easy dinner recipes.”
3. Speaks Directly to the Reader
This example meta description from our blog post on the best freelance writing courses for beginners uses the second person (“you”) to engage with and speak directly to the reader:
It also demonstrates the benefits of the article to the reader, telling them what they need to know without the distraction of unnecessary details.
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