What is Medium’s SEO Description Setting

Examples of replacing the default with a well-written description of your own

Introduction

I am not a Search Engine Optimization expert and I do not write this article as an instructional guide on how to get more Google® hits nor hits further up the results page. I know there is a science to that which I leave to certified experts, like [arlie] PEYTON, whom I invite to educate us all in response to this article. I know just enough to sound like I would know what I’m talking about but not enough not to possibly sow confusion.

Here is what I understand about Medium’s SEO Description. It is useless. That is unless I revise it. Then, according to Dr Mehmet Yildiz, as he imparted to me when he would edit my settings when I was just a lowly newbie-writer, it increases the chances of my articles being found by people using search-engine searches to find articles like those I write.

I write this article now because as an editor for ILLUMINATION and our mirror-image, I see many good articles that are worthy of search engine hits that won’t receive them unless I either revise the SEO description myself, which I often do, particularly if I feel the article has substance (I try to pick and choose what I edit accordingly — I do no one any service being a queue-clearer), or bring it to the writer’s attention to do themselves so they will learn. If I do it for them I do not feel they learn even when I point out that I did so.

Digression

Does anyone else feel that Medium should have a footnote function? My parenthetical would be a footnote instead of making the already long sentence require even more concentration. Am I stubborn for not re-writing the paragraph with sentences for, oh what did GranPa-Festus call it the other day in his latest masterful diatribe that made me laugh, oh yes, TASG’s? Perhaps.

Let’s see:

Why do I write this article now? I do so because as an editor for ILLUMINATION and our mirror-image, I see many good articles that are worthy of search engine hits that won’t receive them. That is unless I revise the SEO description myself. I often do this. Particularly if I feel the article has substance. I try to pick and choose to edit articles that I find substantive. I do no one any service being a queue-clearer. If I do not revise it myself, I bring it to the writer’s attention to do themselves so they will learn how to do it. If I do it for them, I do not feel they learn even when I point out that I did so.

Which version of the paragraph do you prefer?

Medium’s SEO Description

You can find it, and may find it if you choose to, in which case you shall find it in either “More settings” in the 3ddM (an homage with a 😉 to GranPa-Festus) if, editing your article, or in “Story settings” from the 3ddM if, you have not chosen edit-mode (more lack of ergonomics from Medium).

As described in the setting:

The SEO Description is used in place of your Subtitle on search engine results pages. Good SEO descriptions utilize keywords, summarize the story and are between 140–156 characters long.

The description defaults to the first approximate 195 characters of a story, which for this story, would be:

I am not a Search Engine Optimization expert and I do not write this article as an instructional guide on how to get more Google® hits nor hits further up the results page. I know there is a science…

Would you click on that hit on a search engine results page? I didn’t think so. Here is the replacement I just drafted:

Describes location and function of Medium’s SEO description and the value of replacing it with your own well-written keyword-rich version with examples.

Other Examples

Here are other examples from stories, poems, and articles of mine, which, wouldn’t you know it, provides synchronicity to introduce Illumination’s readers to a plethora of my off-Illumination work.

Writing one’s own SEOD is particularly useful for poetry:

Poem of tankas accepting responsibility for damaged friendship while forgiving myself as aware toxic parent traumatized me; healing by draining pain pockets

Poem (Tanka) highlights common misconception that “coincidence” means happenstance when actually coincidence and synchronicity each imply cause and effect

click-bait inspired tanka in which synchronicity teaches life-lesson of the power of truth to create empathy and enables people to identify with one another

Poetry prose hybrid on the influence that spirits, angels, souls and deities have on, and ever-presence in, us. Everyone has access to god

Poem describes final steps of spiritual awakening process dissolving of attachment to human name and ego yielding integration of my consciousness with soul

Non-poetry:

connects the Jungian synchronicities between an essay on stoic and aztec philosophy to interpretation of serenity prayer and parable re subjective truth

My spiritual way is not to turn other cheek nor does it take eye-for-an-eye revenge; karma demands that I hold myself and others accountable to moral code

Lastly, I doubt anyone would click on:

To: A Medium Corporation, P.O. Box 602, San Francisco, CA 94104, via email to [email protected] and Jonathan Greene, Owner, the publication Assemblage [note I am blocked from tagging Mr. Greene and

But, this…

cease and desist letter to Medium and Jonathan Greene for damages for defamation per se; Section 230 of CDA does not shield Medium from being a publisher

I hope you found this article instructive by example and that you enjoyed any of my embedded works that the SEO descriptions pleased you to opt to explore.

In Rama I create,

Marcus