Search engine optimization is crucial for a website's visibility and, consequently, its relevance to people seeking access to specific content or products. Many activities—both on-site and off-site—affect click-through rates in search results.
Meta tags are important for positioning and clicks, especially the meta description, which informs the user what content they can find on a given website.
While the title displayed in SERPs is important for optimization and influences rankings, the short meta description raises questions. Does the page description visible in search results have direct SEO implications?
Meta description – what is it?
Description is part of the meta tags that are located in the page's source code in the <head> section.
(The rest of the article can be found below the form)
The meta description on the home page and subpages can also be edited quickly and easily on most content management systems (CMS).
The <description> tag , along with the <title> tag, is the user's first encounter with the page accessed by the search query. Meta tags often influence the user's final decision as to whether a given site is worth clicking.
The title and a short description of the page should therefore answer the questions that are searched for through keywords entered in Google.
The impact of meta description on positioning
Until recently, the meta description tag influenced a website's search engine rankings. Unfortunately, it didn't quite do its job, as instead of providing a neat description of the page's content, it was filled with keywords—often separated by a comma—related to specific topics within the site's content.
The proliferation of keywords was, indeed, beneficial for the website, which was climbing the ranks with this – from today's perspective – spammy tactic. This phenomenon aptly came to be called keyword stuffing. However, these practices were associated with so-called Black Hat SEO , so in 2009, Google decided to change its algorithm, as a result of which the meta description tag was excluded from directly influencing SEO.
Currently, the meta description doesn't affect a page's position, but it does influence click-through rates. Therefore, the meta description has an indirect impact on positioning because it serves as a kind of website showcase.
A short description may interest a potential user because the information and keywords it contains show that the website will be a potential source of knowledge.
Therefore, the description must be eye-catching, contain keywords relevant to the given page and subpage, and – importantly – this short description should have a specific character count that is visible in search results. The meta description tag doesn't affect SEO, but it positively impacts CTR (click-through rate).
What should a good meta description look like?
The meta description should reference the substantive value of the page or subpage to which it is assigned. As with all website content, the short descriptions for each tab should be unique to avoid duplicate content.
The description itself is also crucial; it must answer the user's question, so it can't be general or lacking in substance. If you type "what is a meta description" into a search engine, both the title and description of the pages displayed in the SERPs should lead to the answer.
It's good if the meta description includes the question you're asking. However, it shouldn't be general, referring to all content a user might find on your site. It's good practice to include a call-to-action in the description that can encourage a click.
Before creating a description, always consider what information you'd like to find there and what would encourage you to visit the site. Character length is crucial for both the title and meta description. In this case, more doesn't necessarily mean better—quite the opposite.
A good headline for a search engine results page should be between 55 and 60 characters long, while the description should be between 155 and 170 characters, including spaces. How can you tell?
While it's easy to determine the length using almost any text editor, it's worth using tools like the serp preview tool for title and description . Using these tools, you can not only easily determine the length of the title and description, but also gain insight into how these meta tags will appear in search results.
Additionally, you can view the page and meta descriptions in the page code using the keyboard shortcut CTRL+U. In summary, a good meta description is one that:
- is unique,
- answers user questions,
- is substantive and encouraging,
- has a key phrase,
- fits in 170 characters with spaces,
- contains a call to action.
No meta description – what happens then?
Even if you don't create a description, this space doesn't remain blank. The description is retrieved by the search engine from the page content that best answers the user's query.
The description is then far too long, and the information it contains isn't necessarily substantive or valuable. A lack of meta descriptions can result in a high bounce rate.
The meta description, along with the title, provides users with important information about what content they can expect to find on the page. If the meta description is consistent, engaging, and provides relevant answers, they are likely to find the site appealing and decide to click through.
The description does not have a direct impact on positioning, but it can certainly influence the user's decision to search for information on a given page, which will significantly increase its CTR.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- Meta description optimization affects a page's click-through rate in search results, although its direct significance for SEO ranking remains debatable.
- Meta description is a tag in the page code that, together with the title, creates a business card in search results, encouraging the user to click by providing an accurate answer to their query.
- Although the meta description no longer directly affects ranking, it remains crucial for indirect positioning by increasing click-through rate (CTR) and attracting user attention.
- An effective meta description should be unique, substantive and contain a call to action (CTA), while staying within the optimal length of 170 characters to effectively respond to the user's needs and encourage them to click.
- The lack of a defined meta description forces the search engine to generate a random description from the page content, which can discourage users, lower click-through rates, and increase bounce rates.
