How to Fix Shopify SEO Problems: META Description

What are Meta Descriptions and why are They Important

As an entrepreneur or marketer running a Shopify store, you've likely heard about meta descriptions. But what exactly are they, and why are they crucial for your store's SEO?

Meta descriptions are concise summaries that appear beneath website titles in search results.

Example

They play a crucial role for both users and search engine bots. For users, compelling meta descriptions act as informative snippets, enticing them to click on the most relevant result to their search query. Search engine bots can utilize meta descriptions to understand the content of a webpage and determine its relevance to a search.

Best Practices for Crafting Effective Meta Descriptions

• Target relevant keywords: Include keywords users might search for, but prioritize natural language over keyword stuffing.
• Keep it concise: Aim for around 155 characters to avoid truncation in search results.
  Write for users: Focus on clarity and user intent, highlighting the value your page offers.
• Include a call to action: Encourage users to click-through with enticing language.
• Maintain accuracy: Accurately reflect the content and avoid misleading descriptions.
• Uniqueness matters: Craft unique descriptions. Using Plug in SEO's Title's and Descriptions  feature you can create a template that makes use of several important keywords and your product title and description, for example, to create a powerful and unique meta description.
• Highlight benefits: Briefly showcase the key takeaways or solutions users will find on your page.
• Consider location: Tailor descriptions to user location if geographically relevant.
• Urgency can be effective: Create a sense of urgency when appropriate to drive clicks.
• Test and refine: Monitor click-through rates and adjust descriptions for optimal performance.

Common Issues Found in the SEO Shop Scan

• Meta Description - Keywords Not Found In Meta Description
• Meta Description - Only One Keyword Mentioned
• Meta Description - Meta Description Is Empty
• Meta Description - Meta Description Is Too Long (180 Characters)

These common issues indicate that your meta description tags need some attention. 

• When there are multiple meta descriptions you're creating problems for your website when the Search engine indexes your site. You'll want to edit your theme so that you have only meta-description tag showing up on your pages.
• When no keywords are found or only one keyword is found you'll need to update your meta-description to include 2 or more of the active keywords in your Keyword Studio(learn more about the Keyword Studio). 
• If your meta description is empty please review the best practices above and use the Titles and Descriptions feature in Plug In SEO to create meta descriptions for all your page.
• If you receive a warning from Plug In SEO's SEO Shop Scan informing you that your meta description is too long, you've likely made changes to Titles and Descriptions > Settings. By default the app will attempt to truncate the meta description attribute at 170 characters.

Creating Custom Meta Descriptions with Plug In SEO

Crafting effective meta descriptions doesn't have to be a daunting task. With the Plug In SEO app, you can create a meta description template that simplifies the process and ensures consistency across your site.

Steps to Create a Meta Description Template:

1. Install Plug In SEO: If you haven't already, install the Plug In SEO app from the Shopify App Store. This tool will help you identify and fix SEO issues, including meta descriptions
2. Navigate to Titles and Descriptions: In the Titles and Descriptions section of the app you can customize the titles and descriptions for each section of your Shopify store such as the home page, Collections, Products, etc.
3. Create a Template: Choose a format that suits your brand and product offerings. A good template structure includes:
   • Primary Keyword: Start with a primary keyword that accurately describes the content or product.
   • Unique Selling Proposition (USP):** Highlight a key benefit or feature.
   • Call to Action (CTA):** Encourage users to take the next step (e.g., "Shop now," "Show me how to...").
   • When creating the meta description for your product and collections pages you can use elements of these pages from Shopify. For example you can use the tags, product title, and product descriptions that you've already created in Shopify in your description. For more details on how to implement these customizations with liquid code, see the article on using liquid code in your titles and descriptions.
4. Save and Preview: To see how the changes you've made will impact how the titles and meta descriptions look, click the Save and Preview button.
5. Implement and Test:
   • Repeat this process to apply an effective template to each of the sections.
   • 
   • Monitor performance using analytics tools to see which descriptions drive the most traffic and adjust as needed.

By understanding and optimizing your meta descriptions, you can enhance your store's visibility, attract more visitors, and ultimately drive more sales. With Plug In SEO, creating and managing these essential SEO elements becomes a seamless part of your marketing strategy.

Preview your Title and Meta Description from Shopify's Page Editor

You can also preview the title and meta description from inside the Shopify page editor. 

Why Doesn’t my META description Display Exactly as Written? 

Search engines like Google and Bing have the ability to rewrite your meta descriptions in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) under certain conditions. This can happen even if you've crafted a compelling and relevant description. Here are the main reasons why they might modify your snippet:

• Length restrictions: Search engines have character limits for meta descriptions displayed in SERPs. If yours exceeds this limit (around 155-160 characters for Google), they'll likely truncate it and create their own snippet to fit the space.
• Providing a better description: Search engines prioritize showing the most relevant and informative snippet to users. If your meta description doesn't accurately reflect the content or isn't well-written, they might rewrite it to better match the user's search query.

For more on character limits and how Google creates snippets, you can refer to their Search Central documentation: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet.