How to Add a Meta Description to Posts

The description that shows up in the search results is a prime location. It is the perfect (and only) place to entice a reader to click through to your blog post from the search results page.

Here’s the thing – it is often forgot about! It is a missed opportunity for many bloggers.

The good news is that it is very easy to add a meta description to posts in both WordPress and Blogger.

What is a Meta Description?

A meta description is the few lines of text shown below the title on the search results page.

The main goal of the meta description is to get a visitor from Google to click through to your blog post.

If you do not write a custom one, then Google (or another search engine) will just pull what it thinks is the relevant bit of text. You have more control when you take the extra time and write one yourself.

Will Adding a Meta Description Help with SEO?

Google announced back in September 2009 that a meta description is not used as a ranking factor. While it is not a direct factor, it is an indirect ranking factor.

A good meta description can increase click-through-rate (CTR) which is used as a ranking factor.

This is why a good, optimized description should still be a very important part of your SEO strategy.

[bctt tweet=”While a meta description is not an SEO ranking factor, they are still important.” username=”blogmelovely”]

Meta Descriptions Best Practices

• Around 155 characters in length in recommend
• Use a unique meta description for each post
• It should include your targeted keyword
• It should relate to the content of your post – if it does not it will increase your bounce rate which is a bad signal to Google
• Treat this as ad copy
• Add a compelling call-to-action (CTA) – this can persuade a user to click

[bctt tweet=”Not sure what makes a good meta description? Check out these tips.” username=”blogmelovely”]

How to Add a Meta Description to Posts in WordPress

My favorite SEO plugin for WordPress is Yoast SEO. It has the ability to do so much, including adding a meta description to your posts. So before you go any further with this tutorial, be sure you have it installed!

Step One

Go to “Posts –> All Posts” and find the post you would like to add the meta description to. Click “Edit”

Step Two

Scroll down to the bottom of the post. A new box should appear that is called Yoast SEO.

Step Three

Hover over the description or click “Edit Snippet”, this will open up an editable section for you to set a custom meta description.

Step Four

Enter in a meta description of your choice. The bar will turn green, orange or red based on the length of the description. Your goal is to have it turn green. That means the length is in the ideal range for the search engine page.

Step Five

The last step is to be sure to save your post! That’s it! Pretty simple right?

[bctt tweet=”Adding a meta description in WordPress is so simple, learn how to do it yourself.” username=”blogmelovely”]

How to Add a Meta Description to Posts in Blogger

If you use Blogger, then you don’t have access to plugins. All you have to do is enable the right setting right within blogger.

Step One

Go to “Settings –> Search Preferences”, this will bring up a list of settings that you can edit.

Step Two

Click “Edit” under “Meta Tags Descriptions”, then select “Yes” for “Enable search description?” This will bring up a text box. You can actually set the meta description for your homepage here. Be sure to click “Save Changes”.

Step Three

Go to “Posts” and click “Edit” on the post you would like to add a meta description to.

Step Four

You should now have a new section under “Post Settings” called “Search Description”. Click this and it will display a blank box. This is where you enter the meta description.

Step Five

The last step for Blogger is also to save your post! Pretty easy!

[bctt tweet=”All the meta descriptions tutorials seem to be for WordPress, learn how to add it in Blogger.” username=”blogmelovely”]

Final Thoughts

Now you know how to add a meta description to posts in both WordPress and Blogger.

Remember to take the time to add unique meta descriptions to each and every one of your posts.

This is a step that is often overlooked and can give you an advantage on the search results pages.

Are you creating compelling descriptions for all of your posts?