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August 27, 2023
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How to Write Meta Descriptions With AI (Tools + Tips)

How to Write Meta Descriptions With AI (Tools + Tips)

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Did you know that changing the meta description alone can impact the number of visitors you get?

Most marketers use generic meta descriptions. I'm talking about the boring "In this post you will learn the step by step process of XYZ"...

This is not only boring, it is costing you valuable traffic and SEO ranking.

You can solve this problem, AND write meta descriptions faster, if you utilize generative AI.

Meta descriptions have been around since the start of the internet, but hopefully this guide will offer at least three new perspectives on them:

  • Writing meta descriptions with AI
  • Incorporating CTAs for better conversions
  • The best tools for meta description optimization

What makes a good meta description?

A good meta description has these qualities:

  • It’s fully visible on the SERPS and is fluff free. 
  • Not overloaded with keywords. 
  • Uses an active voice. 

For example, if I leave it to my SEO plugin to choose my Meta description for this post, it’ll read, “My meta description is compelling, relevant, search engine’s favourite, and drives readers to click on my posts.”

This is not ideal. 

It doesn’t reflect what benefits a reader reaps from this post and is also redundant. Your meta description should be evergreen and highlight primary keywords, so people know if it matches their queries. 

But,

Spending hours on research or writing 155 characters is preposterous. 

Well, fear not because artificial intelligence is here to help! With AI, you can now generate meta descriptions. These are optimized for search engine results and can help increase your website's visibility. AI can also automate meta-description generation, making it faster and easier than ever before.

Wordtune is one of them!

Guess, what part of this intro is written with the help of Wordtune’s new feature, “Spices”?

You can rewrite, add anecdotes, rephrase the message, and many other functions with this tool. 

In this guide, I’ve compiled all the ways with bonus tips on how you can write killer meta descriptions with Ai and what to avoid (technology overpowers intent sometimes).

Let’s start!

Why are meta descriptions important?

A meta description is a sub-part of the meta data with the attributes:

  • Meta title 
  • Title tags, and
  • Meta description

This description appears just under the blue link of your SERP results. For example, a simple query, “What is metadata?” generates these results with the following descriptions. 

Notice how it highlights the primary information. This helps you understand the crux of the matter. 

How are they helpful?

If you want to recall the definition or meaning of a term quickly, you don’t have to struggle with long text arrays and just read the descriptions under the top results. That provides an overview and helps you decide the option that appeals to you. 

They bring more eyes to a content page. And like we say in the writing biz, never miss a chance to personalize. Meta descriptions can prove beneficial for you. So it’s always a good idea to include them.

How to start with them? Here are some tips 👇

5 Tips to elevate your meta descriptions

As per Google, "A meta description tag generally informs and interests users with a short, relevant summary of what a particular page is about. They are like a pitch that convinces the user that the page is exactly what they're looking for. There's no limit on how long a meta description can be, but the snippet is truncated in Google Search results as needed, typically to fit the device width."

So it's a warm-up for your readers, a little sneak peek which compels them to read the whole post. 

Remember, if your meta description contradicts the content of the post, you'll suffer from a high bounce rate. These tips will help avoid such situations:

1. Add the definition

Many simple queries like "What is a meta description" "How to add anecdotes to content", "Meaning of SEO Optimization", and more can be answered with one or two-liners. 

If you're writing condor such topics, add the definition as the meta description. This answers the search intent, saves time, and leaves a lingering memory of your post in the reader's mind. 

Here are some examples:

Query: "What are keywords?"

Meta Description: Keywords are used to identify a website as relevant to a particular search. They appear in page titles, headings, and within the content itself.

Query: "What is a solstice?"

Meta Description: A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky. This happens twice a year when the Sun is at its farthest point, North or South of the equator. The days of the solstice are the longest and shortest days of the year.

Note: This description is 263 characters, but it's broken down into sentences and relays the definition in the first line. So, this won't affect the ability of the description to capture the audience.

Query: "What is keyword stuffing"

Meta Description: Keyword stuffing is when you excessively use the exact keywords (or phrases) in your content to manipulate search engine algorithms. It's better to use keywords naturally in your content for better SEO results.

The takeaway: Keep it direct, simple, and concise. 


These meta descriptions are created with the help of Wordtune’s new features spices. I wrote the first 4-5 words and then asked the Ai tool to “Continue writing” with their new feature, and it generated these results.

2. Don’t plagiarize meta descriptions

Google, in general, doesn’t promote plagiarism. If your meta description matches another, your rank will go down, the readers will be confused with the options, and the SERPS will overflow with redundant data that coerces the users to read the content inside each link. 

If you copy, Google will also flag your content as low quality and impact your rank. So, it’s best to create new content and not rely on SEO plugins or Google to assign one. 

3. Add a call-to-action (CTA)

Bold CTAs provide a reason for readers to click on the link. 

Let’s look at an example:

This description contains the CTA “Add to Chrome for free”, which tells the users, they’ll enjoy free benefits and the features mentioned below that’ll instantly redirect readers to the feature they’re looking for. 

Check out how Ai tools and writing are bold, these capture the attention of people looking for—Ai writing assistants.

4. Avoid keyword stuffing

Meta descriptions have primary keywords but sprinkle them naturally and don't force words between sentences. If you resort to keyword stuffing for only better ranking and forget your readers, you'll overcomplicate the description. This'll break the attention cycle of users and direct them to another link. 

For example, your primary keyword is "Keyword stuffing", and you write the description, "Keyword stuffing is using too many keywords instead of keeping the keyword volume down."

This description is—clunky and fluff-infested. 

A better alternative would be: "Keyword stuffing is using words excessively to manipulate algorithms,"

This description also uses the keyword but keeps the text light and explains the meaning in a few words.

5. Drive engagement with catchy descriptions 

Monotony and content don’t go well together. You always have to keep it casual, informative, and unique. Meta descriptions should stop the reader and compel them to read and check out your content. For that, it needs a little spice. 

The best way to tackle this, imbibe your content tone into your description too. This means if you have a confident tone in your content, retain it in the descriptions too. 

For example:

 “5 writing tips to make your content irresistible.”

or

“🎂Fresh out of the oven, my new recipe for eggless chocolate cake.”

A description like this covers your keyword and also adds personality which makes the users feel they’re talking to a human and not Ai or bots. This kind of description sells, interests the readers and drives more organic traffic. 

The Best Tools For Writing Meta Descriptions With AI

Ai is the future that’ll assist writers in creating good content in less time and help them focus more on quality. Ai makes the cut especially because it requires no code, is most of the time free to use, and has multiple personalization features to choose from. 

Google itself has a meta description writer, but that assigns the opening line as the metadata, which can sometimes be off-subject. 

With the increasing focus on search intent, marketers and writers need to ponder about their descriptions more and stop undervaluing them. The more valuable your content is for the readers, the better response you get from them. 

To make this easier for you, I’ve handpicked the best Ai Meta descriptions writers. You can use them for the best description suggestions or to enhance your current ideas!

1. Wordtune

My top AI meta description writer is Wordtune, an Ai writing assistant. Wordtune helps writers rewrite, rephrase, add, and gather suggestions to make their writing more enticing. 

My favorite part about this tool is its expansive list of features. 

With it, I can not only write descriptions but fine-tune them for eccentricity and remove fluff through the rewriting feature. 

Here’s an example of a meta description I created with Wordtune:

Prompt: Long tail keywords are the primary words…..

The feature used: Spices+add explanation

Result:

Wordtune

If I want to emphasize this sentence, I can use the Spices+Emphasize feature to bring more attention to a keyword. 

Wordtune is unique because it doesn’t copy content from the internet, rather, takes the data and creates new content that isn’t found anywhere. Its ability to write helps me avoid grammatical errors, expand definitions, remove fluff, add examples, counterarguments, anecdotes, and many more. 

Here’s an extensive list of the features included under just one of the many features of Wordtune. When you click on “Spices✨”, you’ll see this drop-down list with many options. These are:

  • Continue writing
  • Explain
  • Emphasize
  • Expand on
  • Give an example
  • Counterargument
  • Define
  • Give an apology
  • Statistical fact
  • Make a joke
  • Historical fact
  • Nature fact
  • Inspirational quote

The best part is it’s still in the beta phase, so you can suggest changes and help build a better tool. 

Other functions of Wordtune that I often use include:

  • Rewriting: Helps remove errors, make content concise, cut down the extra words, and provide better alternatives. 
  • Casual: Makes content more laidback and removes seriousness
  • Formal: Best for professional writing when talking to executives
  • Expand: Add more content when you run dry of ideas
  • Shorten: Reduce the word count and make the content more lively

You can add its free Chrome extension. It allows 10 rewrites for free per day, which helps avoid periods of content block and research time. 

You can upgrade and get unlimited rewrites for all features for just $9.99 a month or use the premium option if you want it for your teams. 

2. SEMRush

SEMrush is a very popular digital marketing tool that can help with creating effective meta descriptions. It offers keyword research, competitor analysis, and performance tracking to optimize your descriptions for higher click-through rates. SEMrush's On-Page SEO Checker provides recommendations to improve your meta descriptions and other on-page elements, leading to better search engine rankings.

Keyword Overview tool from Semrush | Semrush
SEMRush

By using SEMrush, you can create compelling meta descriptions that accurately describe your content, incorporate relevant keywords, and drive more traffic to your website.

3. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool that can help with creating effective meta descriptions by providing competitor analysis, backlink research, and keyword research. Its Content Explorer tool generates ideas for meta descriptions. Compared to SEMrush, Ahrefs is more focused on backlink analysis and offers extensive data on backlinks, referring domains, and organic search traffic. While SEMrush offers a wider range of marketing tools, Ahrefs is specifically designed for SEO and offers in-depth analysis of backlinks and keywords.

SEO Checker: Analyze Your Site for 100+ SEO Issues
Ahrefs

4. Metatags.IO

Metatags.io is a free online tool that can help with creating meta descriptions by providing instant previews of how your descriptions will appear in search engine results pages (SERPs). This tool offers a simple interface where you can enter your meta title, description, and URL to generate a preview of your SERP snippet. You can edit your description until you get it just right, ensuring that it accurately describes your content and entices users to click through to your website. With Metatags.io, you can easily optimize your meta descriptions for higher click-through rates and better search engine rankings.

Metatags.IO

5. Meta Length Checker

Meta Length Checker is another great online tool that can help with creating meta descriptions by ensuring that your descriptions meet the character length requirements for various search engines. By entering your meta description and URL, the tool calculates the character length and provides recommendations for optimizing the description to fit the character limits for Google, Bing, and other search engines. Meta Length Checker ensures that your meta descriptions are not too long or too short, helping to improve your click-through rates and search engine rankings. Compared to Metatags.io, which focuses on providing a preview of how your meta description will appear in SERPs, Meta Length Checker is specifically designed to optimize your meta description length for better search engine performance.

Meta Length Checker


SEO Checkpoints to Include in Your Meta Descriptions 

SEO optimization is an essential creative part of writing. The more you please Google, the more your target audience can see your content. And while all the generic tips work, here are some bonus pointers to make your descriptions stand out from the norm. 

Google uses a number of different sources to automatically determine the appropriate snippet, including descriptive information in the meta description tag for each page. And as you know, snippets are the top results, and meta descriptions are a great opportunity to score them. 

While there are stats that Google rewrites meta descriptions most of the time. To be precise, 62.78% of the time. This can be a bummer for someone who spends time writing them, but that's not the case for long-tail keywords. 

Google sometimes uses the <meta name= "description"> tag from a page to generate a snippet in search results. If you use a CMS, such as Wix, WordPress, or Blogger, you might not be able to edit your HTML directly or prefer not to. Instead, your CMS might have a search engine settings page or some other mechanism to tell search engines about meta tags(unless you generate them manually). 

So here are some tips to beat the algorithms:

1. ChatGPT prompt for better meta description optimization

Human touch is crucial, so even when you’re using an AI writing assistant, it’s essential to rely on your guts more. For example, if you feel an alternative is good but some tweaks can make it great, don’t hesitate to change it. 


AI will help you research and remove the time block, but it’s you who’ll mold it into the right shape. 

An example prompt you could use would be:

As an SEO expert, suggest improvements for a better meta description for an article on [Topic]: "[Current meta description]."

2. Programmatically generate descriptions 

When you’re writing descriptions for news channels or new sites, you can take the title or the announcement as the meta descriptions. For more significant database-driven sites, like product and e-commerce distributors, hand-written descriptions are impossible because we’re talking about writing 100s of descriptions for each product. In the latter case, however, programmatic generation of the descriptions is justified and saves time for writers. Good descriptions are human-readable and diverse. Page-specific data is a good candidate for programmatic generation.

3. Write it in the active voice 

Meta description is an invitation to visit your page. So think about your users, and make sure the description isn’t cryptic. When you write it in an active voice, you’re directly addressing the customer and they’ll feel a connection. So ensure, you take in all the keywords and make it something personal, that hits the right chords.

Write Meta Descriptions Your Audience Resonates With

Meta descriptions are not monumental, but have a significant impact on the content and its quality. The more specific you are with content in today's saturated market, the better chances you have to rank for it. Search engines are designed to display the most relevant content for a user's query. It's just 165 characters, but it's what drives attention to your 3,000-word or other long-form content. 

So choose wisely and give it a few moments of your time. And if you ever run out of ideas, Ai age is here to be your trusted writing companion. 

Unfortunately, you can't fully control what Google displays in the search results. Sometimes it shows the meta description, and sometimes it just grabs some sentences of your copy. Either way, your best bet is to keep it short, concise, and sweet.