If you’ve been in the affiliate space for a while, you’ve probably found yourself writing meta descriptions and titles by default. The practice is commonly believed to be crucial for improved SEO, but is that actually the case?
The simple answer to that is yes and no, and the reasons for it being no will probably surprise you. Nonetheless, optimizing meta information still has a whole host of benefits – and it could be the difference between someone clicking on your article or choosing a competitor instead.
In this article, we’ll talk about whether meta information optimization is important for SEO – and the top benefits of continuing to do it even if it doesn’t significantly boost rankings.
Is Meta Information Important for Your SEO Rankings?
In a recent Google Search Central SEO Office Hours session, John Müller – Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google – spoke about whether optimizing meta information actually matters that much for your rankings within the search engine.
During that discussion, he said:
“So the meta description is primarily used as a snippet in the search results page. And that’s not something that we would use for ranking.”
Simply put, it’s unlikely that your meta information missing will harm your search rankings. Nonetheless, Müller does think that omitting this data could have a detrimental effect on whether your website does well or not. During the call, he also said that having one “makes it more interesting for people to actually visit your page when they see your page ranking in the search results”.
Here’s Why You Should Still Use Meta Information
Now that you know meta information probably isn’t important for SEO (at least in a direct sense), what should you do? Is it worth stopping everything and letting your website manually fill out the excerpt for others to see?
Well, no. Not quite. Using meta information on Google still has several benefits, as we’ll discuss in the sections listed below.
Having a Meta Description Will Compel People to Click on Your Link
If you search for anything iGaming-related on Google, you will undoubtedly notice several articles with the same – or similar titles. This benefits the established brands since players will most likely click on their content first.
But what if you’re just getting started? Chances are that you will need to find a way to tempt users to click on your page instead.
If your article or page has a meta description, you can easily tell people why they should go to your website instead of another. It’s an opportunity to highlight the exact value you will offer them, in addition to also giving them a bit of an insight into your brand and the experience you offer.
It Looks More Professional
Let’s face it – having properly-optimized meta information simply looks more professional. If you see an article with a description that’s partially cut off, do you think of that website as being reputable? Or do you feel like it’s a blogger who got bored halfway through and that will be reflected in the experience you receive once you click through?
We would assume you’re more inclined to say the latter.
Having a well-optimized meta description and title is an excellent way to give your website more of a professional look before someone even visits. Of course, the content you publish will need to live up to expectations once they click through.
Your Meta Description Is Important for Differentiating Yourself From Competitors
The iGaming affiliate space is pretty established, and you will find yourself tussling with thousands of other websites for attention – regardless of the niche you choose. As a result, you need to find a way to separate yourself from everyone else competing for the top spot on page one.
If you have a meta description and title, it’s easy for users to tell instantly what you do – and they can then decide on whether they would like to click through or choose someone else. Even if they opt for the latter, at least you did everything you could to capture their attention.
Meta Information Is a Good Way to Get a Customer Through the Door
So, there you have it – now you know more about whether meta information matters for your website from an SEO perspective. In short, no – it does not. However, that doesn’t mean you should avoid it altogether as ultimately it can be a power driver of traffic to your site.
Now that you know why meta information is important, make sure you optimize your snippets to compel people to visit your pages.
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