Encourage visitors to click through to your website with a compelling meta description.
Why Meta Descriptions are Important
They drive traffic to your website. Well crafted meta descriptions encourage users to click through to your website over the other options presented in Google’s search results. Help Google understand your content with an optimized meta description.
Overview of Meta Descriptions & SEO Titles
When people search for content online, Google presents a list of search results to match the user’s query. This is referred to as the search engine results page (SERP).
Each listing on the SERP displays a page’s URL, SEO title, and meta description.
Example: SERP for “anxiety therapist seattle”
Search terms are bolded for emphasis
Meta descriptions and SEO titles are an important part of a successful SEO strategy. They help search engines understand your content and they encourage searchers to click through to your website.
Searchers will click the website that best matches their query.
SEO Title & Meta Description Best Practices:
Use compelling copy so users select your search result over the other options. Your SEO title and meta description are essentially an ad for your content.
Keep it Within Character Count
Keep SEO titles under 55 characters and meta descriptions under 145 characters to avoid having your content cut off. Count characters with a letter counter tool.
Optimize for Keywords
Place keywords at the beginning of the copy. Include your location to capture location-based search queries.
Include a Call to Action
Let the reader know what to do next. Include a call to action for them to stay engaged. For example, Call for a Consult, Book a Session, etc.
Be Unique
Create a unique SEO title and meta description. Otherwise, Google won’t know which page to prioritize in search results.
Download the SEO Guide for Therapists
An Overview of Keywords
Short Tail Keywords
Keywords that contain 1 to 3 words are referred to as short tail or head term keywords. They usually have a higher number of searches and are more competitive to rank for.
Example: anxiety therapist
Long Tail Keywords
Long tail keywords have 4 or more words and convert better than short tail terms. They usually are less competitive and easier to rank for than short tail keywords.
Example: dealing with anxiety in children
Branded Keywords
Branded terms include the name of your website or private practice. Ideally branded terms should rank in one of the top positions on page 1 of Google’s SERP.
Example: savvy counseling anxiety therapist
Access the SEO terminology page for additional definitions of common SEO terms.
Keyword Research Tools
There are a variety of ways to uncover keywords to generate ideas for what searchers are looking for online.
Google’s Autocomplete
When you enter a search query into Google, a list of suggestions appear. This is Google’s autocomplete function.
Example: autocomplete for anxiety therapy
Google’s Related Searches
The bottom of the search engine results page (SERP) displays Related searches.
Example: related searches for anxiety therapy
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is a free keyword research tool to find keywords. It will provide keyword results for a specific website or additional ideas for a specific keyword.
Below are keyword ideas for the term “anxiety therapist”. This information can be exported or copied to analyze further to identify keywords to target.
Finalize Your Keyword
Confirm that the results for your target keyword line up with your content. The websites that appear in your search results are the sites you are competing against.
How does your SEO title and meta description compare?
Organic search results for anxiety therapist seattle
Interested in Learning More?
Find out more about search engine optimization for counselors and therapists.