Meta Descriptions | A Quick Guide 2024
What is a meta description ? Meta description is an HTML attribute that provides a short description of the webpage. It contains a short summary of the page . I
What is a meta description ?
Meta description is an HTML attribute that provides a short description of the webpage. It contains a short summary of the page . It can appear as a snippet below the page url in google search result pages. For example in the given image , the short summary is the meta description.
In HTML code the same meta description would look like : <meta name=”description” content=”AI in SEO means using artificial intelligence in SEO day … We at Webwave digital marketing agency believe in using AI to transform SEO.”>
Google interprets meta description as a short summary and uses it to understand the page much better. Generally google shows hardcoded meta description in the search snippet. However recent research shows that only 37% times it shows hardcoded meta descriptions.
Why is meta description important ?
Meta description is an important factor in SEO. Although it is not directly related to ranking factor , it helps in summarizing content on the page and gist to users about the content and help improve CTR.
Google also highlights relevant search keywords in the meta description snippet , this instills confidence in user that the page contains information about what the user is looking for.This would increase CTA.
Is Meta description compulsory ?
Setting a meta description on each page is a good practice. Google not always uses user declared meta description , it can also auto generate if it feels your meta description does not satisfy user intent . However having your meta description helps to take more control , you can customize it to make it more clickable
Best practices for meta description
- Make sure every page has meta description
As explained before, having a meta description on each page is beneficial has it helps you take control of the content , customize it and make it more clickable.
- Search Intent
Make your meta description match search intent . You want to make sure it matches what users are looking for to increase the chances of user clicking on the result . One can use our inbuilt free ai meta description generator tool.
- Length
Wondering about how long the meta description should be ?
We recommend 105 characters so that meta description does not get truncated. It should not exceed 160 characters
- Uniqueness
Ensure each page has a unique meta description , so that it does not result in duplicate content issue and also it would not meet users requirement
