Comments on: Influence Customers with Meaningful Terms in Meta Descriptions

By: Content Optimization Checklist for Human Readers and SEO : Word Sell, Inc.

Content Optimization Checklist for Human Readers and SEO : Word Sell, Inc. — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:27:51 +0000

[...] link on a SERP (search engine results page). Although of minimal SEO importance, it’s wise to write meta descriptions persuasively because they influence human [...]

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:09:15 +0000

Andrew, As someone who has spent many years in the corporate world buying and selling, you can trust me on this. When you hear expressions like "world class" and "innovative", you can be pretty sure the seller doesn't fully understand what he is selling, who wants to buy it, or why they want to buy it. It is reasonable and prudent for the buyer to then assume the seller is not reliable or consistent. Those assumptions may not be true, but that's the price sellers pay for being vague. Brad Shorrs last blog post..Influence Customers with Meaningful Terms in Meta Descriptions

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:02:27 +0000

Brad, One thing about some of the expressions which you suggest is how they provide immediate evidence, particularly with respect to reliability and quality control. They are wondering: "The claims sound great, but can I place my trust in them to deliver on their promises.' When prospective customers hear statements like 'Accredited by ..' 'Established since ...' or 'Authorized dealer,,' they know that I am not dealing with some fly-by-night operation. On the other hand, statements like "Innovative," or "World Class" do little or nothing to prove anything about the trustworthiness of your brand to prospective customers. One of the key issues which prospective clients are looking for is trust, particularly as they may not be familiar with your firm and may therefore have questions with regards to the reliability and consistency of your service or the quality of your output. Andrews last blog post..Should copyright infringers be disconnected?

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:11:14 +0000

Andrew, Specific is good, I agree. There is always a temptation in any sort of business writing to try to tell the whole story, attempt to be all things to all people. But for search I think it's the details that capture the searcher's attention. Brad Shorrs last blog post..Influence Customers with Meaningful Terms in Meta Descriptions

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:35:26 +0000

Brad, I had never thought about this, but now that I come to think of it, as a web surfer, the meta description, along with the title, are the only two things that: (a) a prospective customer sees in the search results; (b) a prospective customer takes into account in deciding which sites, out of the twenty five or so they see on screen, that they will visit. I like how the examples you show (in the positive side) are so specific. These, in contrast to the vague statements on the negative side, provide a specific reason for prospective customers to visit your site especially. Andrews last blog post..Somali pirates - armed guards not the answer

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:29:50 +0000

Robert, I’m sorry I can’t offer anything new on this topic, but the same old advice of using meaningful, key phrases continues to be sound … and continues to be ignored by many marketers!

Brad Shorrs last blog post..Influence Customers with Meaningful Terms in Meta Descriptions

By: Robert Hruzek

Robert Hruzek — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:17:38 +0000

Interesting! I never really thought about it before, but seeing some actual, focused meta descriptions as from your list above – well, it looks exactly like those “key phrases” we’re supposed to put on our resumes, don’t you think?

We’ve been hearing it for years – use concrete action verbs, not vague buzz words everybody’s heard a million times.