A meta description is a brief summary or snippet of a webpage’s content that appears in the HTML code of the page. It is typically used by search engines to display a preview of the webpage in search results. Meta descriptions are important for search engine optimization (SEO) because they provide potential visitors with a quick overview of what to expect from the webpage, which can influence their decision to click on the link.

Here are some key points about meta descriptions:

1. Location in HTML: Meta descriptions are placed within the section of an HTML document using the meta tag.

2. Length: Although there is no strict character limit, it is generally recommended to keep meta descriptions between 150-160 characters to ensure that the entire description is visible in search engine results.

3. Content: A good meta description should be concise, relevant to the webpage content, and include important keywords to improve SEO. It should be compelling to encourage users to click on the link.

4. SEO Impact: While meta descriptions do not directly affect search engine rankings, they can impact click-through rates (CTR). A well-written meta description can attract more clicks, indirectly influencing the page’s ranking.

5. Display in Search Results: When a search engine like Google displays search results, it often shows the meta description below the page title and URL. If a meta description is not provided, the search engine may generate one automatically based on the page content.

By crafting effective meta descriptions, website owners can enhance their site’s visibility and attractiveness in search engine results, ultimately driving more traffic to their webpages.

Importance of meta descriptions for SEO

Search engines show it in search results when the meta description also includes the keywords being searched.

Unlike the page title, meta descriptions aren’t an SEO ranking factor, but they do entice search engine users to click through to a page and are part of effective on-page SEO.

A meta description is the promise you make to searchers. Among a sea of competing webpages, it calls out to them and says, “This is the page you’re looking for.”

When you type a search query into Google—let’s use “temporary tattoos” as an example—the algorithm displays results on the search engine results page (SERP).

This page is extremely complicated, but for now let’s ignore all the shopping ads, images, and videos in favor of the more traditional organic search results.

The blue words at the top are the “title tag.” They’re the title of the webpage. Below them you’ll see a page description of no more than 155 characters. This is the meta description. It’s responsible for higher click-through rates to your web page and can indirectly impact your SEO rankings.

Does Google rewrite meta descriptions?

Yes, Google rewrites meta descriptions. So, why bother writing unique meta descriptions if Google will display whatever it wants anyway?

The ultimate reason is the correlation between higher search volume keywords and lower rewrite rates. Kim Herrington, an SEO & SEM consultant, has particular expertise in writing meta descriptions for ecommerce businesses, as well as with optimizing their stores for search.

Through Kim’s own experience, she’s learned that if stores target high traffic keywords, your original meta description is more likely to appear as you wrote it on your website. “SEO can be time consuming and expensive for ecommerce stores with a high volume of products,” Kim says. “Approaching your meta descriptions knowing they’ll be rewritten can free up resources.”

Much more productive, she suggests, is focusing on writing really good meta descriptions for your highest volume keywords, because Google is more likely to use them: “Focus primarily on your bestsellers and category page meta descriptions rather than every single item you sell.”