Did you know that the first Asians to enter what we now know as the United States were Filipino sailors on Spanish galleon ships who arrived in central California in 1587?
As a proud Filipino-American who only arrived here as part of the wave of Asian immigration to the U.S. in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I’m thrilled to showcase some of my favorite Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) creators and bloggers who have made WordPress.com their home.
Food, glorious food
Millions of us make up the global Asian diaspora in nearly every country in the world, hailing from one or more of the 48 Asian countries. We may come from unique cultures, but there’s one thing that binds us all together: our deep and abiding love of food.
Check out these mouth-watering food blogs, complete with step-by-step recipes and, of course, plenty of colorful photos to inspire you to break out your favorite wok or kawali.
Although this blog hasn’t been updated in a while, with literally hundreds of recipes in the archive, you’ll never run out of dishes to try. Inspired by his years learning traditional cooking techniques from his mother, the author, a San Francisco-based Filipino-American, weaves personal stories into each meticulously developed recipe.
An eclectic mix of book reviews, poetry, recipes, and personal essays, this site is a whimsical journey through the writer’s culinary and reading adventures.
Pop culture
These sites dive into the vibrant, ever-evolving world of AAPI pop culture, amplifying voices, dissecting trends, and celebrating representation.
The dazzling mosaic of pop culture-infused images in the header of this site lifts my mood every time I visit. Although it’s not specifically positioned as an Asian-American pop culture site, a quick perusal of its posts makes clear its creative roots in our community.
Yes, this blog is written by and for students at New York University, but it’s really for anyone who shares their passion for AAPI representation in pop culture, especially among Gen Alpha.
Add to your TBR
I think just about every other site publishes “to be read” listicles of AAPI authors and books in May. Let’s give it up to those creators and bloggers who focus their reviews on our community’s literary output year-round.
Thirty-something Taiwanese-American blogger Shenwei shines a spotlight on YA, adult fiction, and middle-grade books through an “Asian-Americanist lens.” She doesn’t just provide quick summaries; she also includes author interviews and curated playlists for select books.
There is a specific subgroup of book lovers who love books about books. And bookstores. I’m a card-carrying member of this special subgroup, and when I saw this particular post show up on my Reader feed, I knew I’d found a kindred spirit. She’s a voracious reader, and I love her joyful and authentic voice.
Stories that stay with you
When identity spans countries, cultures, and histories, stories like these delve deeply into questions of culture, family, and what it means to find one’s place in the world.
This blog powerfully documents the singular experiences and challenges of transracial adoptions. The writer, herself one of 80,000 adoptees from China who now live in the US, is a professional social worker, prolific author, and speaker on the topic.
I’m always looking for more blog recommendations about the AAPI experience, so please share your favorites in the comments!
Meta descriptions might not appear on the frontend of your site for your readers to see, but they play a significant role behind the scenes. These short blurbs can influence whether someone clicks through from search or scrolls right on past.
In this post, we’ll break down what meta descriptions are, why they matter, and how to write descriptions that actually get clicks.
A meta description is a line of text in web pages that summarizes their contents. Have you ever seen the summaries underneath the blue links on search results pages? Those are meta descriptions. Here is an example direct from Google:
Unsurprisingly, Google knows how to write a solid meta description.
Meta descriptions may also appear in link previews on social media posts, text messages, and chat apps. When written as HTML, they are wrapped in a <meta> tag within the <head> section of your page.
<meta name="description" content="INSERT YOUR META DESCRIPTION HERE" />
You can also see the meta description on any web page by right-clicking and selecting View Page Source. Here is an example from the entertainment website Polygon:
Meta descriptions are closely related to title tags, which appear as the actual blue links in search results. Together, they tell search engines and users what your site’s pages (from your homepage to individual blog posts and pages) are about.
How do meta descriptions impact SEO?
Unlike title tags, meta descriptions do not directly influence search engine rankings. However, they do affect how your pages appear in search results and tell users why they should click.
Think of your meta description as a brief pitch—it won’t directly boost your content rankings, but it can help it win the click. Paired with a strong title tag, it’s your best chance to stand out in a crowded search result.
What happens if pages are missing meta descriptions?
If a page is missing a meta description, the short answer is that nothing bad is likely to happen. But the long answer is a bit more nuanced. Meta descriptions can influence click-through rates, so leaving them out means missing an opportunity to shape how your content appears in search results.
If the meta description tag is missing, then Google will use other text from the page to generate its own snippet. Some people prefer to let Google handle meta descriptions instead of writing one manually. In fact, former Googler Matt Cutts once said he doesn’t include meta descriptions on all of his blog posts:
So should you leave meta descriptions blank? Google’s own AI says that it may be risky:
Leaving meta descriptions blank can result in inaccurate page descriptions and, therefore, less search traffic.
Do meta descriptions need to be unique?
Duplicative meta descriptions are confusing for search engines and unhelpful for users, so the meta descriptions across your website should all be unique.
If your site or blog has many posts and pages that are missing meta descriptions, writing unique meta descriptions for each one could take a long time. In this instance, we recommend following Matt Cutts’ timeless advice from the video we shared earlier in this post:
Include meta descriptions on your most important pages.
Make sure your meta descriptions are unique.
Leave the rest of your meta descriptions blank.
Once you’ve done that, make it a habit to include meta descriptions on new pages and posts. This is a compromise between time-consuming manual effort and setting yourself up for future success.
How long should meta descriptions be?
The traditional advice is that meta descriptions should be 150 characters or less. This will ensure search engines don’t cut them off. However, this isn’t the whole story.
Google measures meta description length in pixels rather than characters. Depending on the specific letters, words, and numbers in your meta description, the total maximum length may be more or less than 150 characters.
Sometimes Google will overwrite the meta description you wrote and use text from the page itself to create a new meta description. Generally, Google will do this if your meta description is too short, or if it thinks it can create an alternative that’s more useful for the reader.
In these instances, the meta description that users see may be more than 300 characters. This makes it difficult to confidently say how long they should be.
So what should you do? As a best practice, stick with the 150-character guideline (but be aware that this isn’t a firm rule).
Using tools to preview your meta descriptions
It’s nice to actually see how meta descriptions will appear in search results before you publish a page. Fortunately, there are plenty of free tools you can use to preview them. Here are a few:
Free tools can help you preview title tags and meta descriptions before you publish them.
Some simple (and overlooked) tips for writing meta descriptions
Ready to get serious about writing meta tags? They aren’t difficult to write, but there are some tips and general best practices you can follow to make sure you get them right.
Keep your title tag in mind
Search engine users will see your meta descriptions underneath your title tags. Keep this in mind when writing them, and ensure they read well together and accurately represent your content.
If you’ve never heard the term “search intent,” it means understanding what a user is trying to do when they search for a specific keyword. There are a few different types of search intent:
Navigational intent means the user is looking for a specific website or page.
Informational intent applies when someone seeks an answer to a question or wants to learn more about a topic.
Commercial intent involves researching products or services before making a decision.
Transactional intent indicates the user is ready to buy a product or service.
When writing meta descriptions, ask yourself what someone looking for that specific page is trying to do, and promise them that the page will provide precisely what they are looking for.
Keep voice search in mind
When crafting meta descriptions, remember voice search and visitors who use screen readers.
Try reading your meta description out loud to see how it sounds. If something sounds clunky or awkward, consider rewriting it to ensure that it’s accessible to all.
Leverage emotional sentiment
Writing a meta description is like writing any other copy or content on your site.
Since emotional language drives action, here are 801 power words that can help make your meta description copy more motivating.
Include calls to action
Meta descriptions are essentially ads for web pages. They should motivate the reader to click through to your site (instead of a different search result). If you’ve never written a call-to-action before, start with this guide from Barefoot Writer.
Updating meta descriptions on WordPress websites
All of the advice we’ve shared so far applies no matter which CMS or website builder you choose. But this is the WordPress.com blog; if you’re here, you probably want to know how to implement better meta descriptions on your own WordPress site.
Here are a few options for updating your meta descriptions:
If you take anything away from this article, it should be this: meta descriptions may be short, but they can influence how often your pages appear and get clicked in search results.
