Get on Google's Front Page with Effective Meta Descriptions: Insider Tips from HackerNoon Editors

Hey Hackers!

As someone who has been writing for years, it can sometimes appear that making it on the first few pages of Google is just a random game of chance. But there are things you can do to increase those chances.

Today, we’ll talk about the importance of the meta description and how it can take you to the top of Google.

What Is the Meta Description?

The meta description is exactly what it sounds like: it describes what your article is about and what readers can expect from it. You can find the meta description box in the story settings.

Why Is the Meta Description Important?

The reason it’s so important is that Google will analyze your meta description and determine how relevant it is to the keywords.

For example, if you write an article about the newest iOS update, and your meta description has zero mention of iOS, iPhone, Apple, or any relevant keywords, Google won’t prioritize it and won’t push it. That’s why it’s essential to capitalize on meta descriptions and make the most out of them.

And if you need help writing them, we got you covered.

How to Write Meta Descriptions

Writing meta descriptions can appear simple, but it takes a little finesse. If you go to the meta description box and just start spamming keywords, that won’t get you anywhere.

This is an example of a bad meta description:

“ios new update apple new update iphone update new iPhone update apple updates apple news”

Now, there’s a slim chance that this can work out in your favor, but it’s not likely. You’ll increase your chances of a better ranking on Google by thinking out your description, and not just trying to take the easy route.

This is an example of a good meta description:

The new iOS 20.5 update introduced new features such as updated security protocols and new emojis. Here's every single feature of the new iOS update explained.

Notice how we have “iOS 20.5 update” and “new iOS update” in the meta description. These are keywords that we’re targeting, and putting them in the meta description will hopefully give us a leg up against other articles talking about the same thing.

And that’s it! We now have a good meta description that we can be proud of.

To recap, here are the important points you need to remember:

• The meta description can’t just be buzzword after buzzword; they have to be clear and concise sentences.
• Try to add 2 keywords to your meta description (It’s also important to add these words into your title and throughout your article).
• The meta description can only be 160 characters, so don’t add unnecessary words.

With these tips, and with your talent, we know your articles will shoot up in the Google stratosphere.

But wait. There’s More!

Did you know HackerNoon is always running writing contests where the winning writers can earn money?? Here are the 5 we currently have going on:

• The #blockchain-api Writing Contest by dRPC ($1,000 in total prizes)
• The #bitcoin Writing Contest by Rootstock ($17,500 in total prizes)
• The Opt-Out Writing Contest by Āut Labs (9,000 USDT in total prizes)
• The #crypto-api Writing Contest by CoinGecko ($1,000 in total prizes)
• The #decentralize-ai Writing Contest by ICP ($1,000 in total prizes)
• The #ethereum Writing Contest by DeGate ($1,000 in total prizes)

See you next time!