Meta Description

A meta description is an HTML meta tag placed in the head section of a web page that provides a concise summary of the page's content. While meta descriptions are not a direct Google ranking factor, they play a crucial role in click-through rates (CTR) from search results. A well-written meta description acts as advertising copy for your page, convincing searchers to click on your result over competing listings.

Best practices for meta descriptions include keeping them between 150-160 characters to avoid truncation in search results, including the target keyword naturally (Google bolds matching terms), incorporating a clear call to action, accurately reflecting the page's content, and making each meta description unique across your site. Avoid duplicate meta descriptions, keyword stuffing, and descriptions that do not match the page content.

It is important to note that Google does not always display the meta description you provide. In many cases, Google generates its own snippet by pulling text from the page that it considers more relevant to the specific search query. Studies suggest Google uses the provided meta description roughly 60-70% of the time. Despite this, writing optimized meta descriptions is still worthwhile because they influence CTR when displayed and help define the page's topic in search engines' understanding of your content.