Content written by Rodney Alsup and published by the MBA News Digest.

Daily, I scan over 250 items displayed on various Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) while searching for articles I can share with MBA News Digest subscribers. Normally, these SERP results display information taken directly from a web page or blog article. Most SERP readers, me included, are attracted to aesthetically pleasing, eye-catching listings that contain well-written content. These listings often attract more visitors. While the SERP listing may not be the only reason some program websites are attracting more visitors, it is a contributing factor. With this in mind, let me use a Google SERP as the standard to show how you can influence what a listing contains and then introduce you to two tools that can help preview what your listing will look like before you publish a webpage or article.

The Google Standard

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The Google standard for displaying SERPs is familiar to all of us. Google search results display only so much information. Typically, headings are limited to 600 pixels or approximately 70 characters and the snippet or meta description limit is two lines or about 156 characters. But, Google recently increased the length of snippets in search results to as much as 230 characters. For reference, this article’s title is 568 pixels or 65 characters and the snippet has 156 characters.

SERP Tools

One way to make sure SERP results accurately display or describe your webpage content or article post is to use SERP preview tools. There are many tools that can display how your content will display. They range from simple to complex and from free to expensive. Here are the two I often use. Both are free and simple to use.

Both appear to serve the same purpose – help content authors/publishers create page titles and meta descriptions or snippets that result in “aesthetically-pleasing or eye-catching listings in Google’s organic search results.” The tools display the page title and snippet content you provide. They do not make suggestions about making changes. Also, you will find minor differences in what the two tools display and neither have been updated to show Google’s expanded snippet character length. And the Web Site Advantage tool lets you display already published pages and articles by pasting the URL into a field.

Final Observation

Keep in mind the reader is looking at the complete listing provided by Google. Usually this includes the title, URL, and snippet and an image when available. Individually, each item may not be enough to tell the story you want told so a reader will click to read or learn more. But, collectively they may do the job.

Join the Conversation

Question: Are you previewing page titles and snippets before you publish a page or article? If so, what tool do you use? Click here to share your response or email me at RGAlsup@MBANewsDigest.com if you prefer to respond without sharing.

Rodney

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