Along with the meta title, the meta description is one of the so-called meta data or meta tags of a website. This meta description provides a brief summary of what content and added value the website offers its visitors.
Search engines like Google read both URL and meta data from web pages. Technically, meta tags and URL act as a so-called SERP (Search Engine Result Page) snippet, which is displayed after the Google search is triggered and serves as a kind of virtual business card of the actual website.
The meta description technology works only when the crawler of Google or another search engine recognizes the meta description as such. This is ensured by the use of a specific format. As a basic HTML structure serves:
meta name = "description" content = "the particular description of the individual website".
The whole thing is enclosed by the classic HTML brackets.
For search engine operators, the meta description has a low relevance when it comes to es ranking. In the past, the main purpose of writing a meta description was to achieve a top ranking among the search results by including relevant keywords. Because this triggered pronounced keyword stuffing, which negatively affected the information value of the meta description, Google changed its ranking criteria in this regard. Although the meta description now has no direct influence on search engine rankings, it is nevertheless very important: Google displays this brief description of the website to users as a concise search result. This has a decisive influence on whether interested parties become curious and then click on the website link. The more meaningful and attractive this preview is, the higher the click rate will usually be. However, this does not mean that meta descriptions have no SEO relevance. If the field for the meta description is simply left blank, search engine operators may assign meta descriptions on their own. These do not always have to be in line with the ideas of SEO managers and website operators.
Depending on the context, Google plays out the appropriate meta description according to search intent. There are 3 ways to prevent this es :
Because meta descriptions are now mainly intended to raise awareness, marketing managers or other professionals ideally design the snippet so that es offers real added value. Because - supplemented by rich snippets - these meta tags are a valuable part of a successful SEO strategy even after the change in Google's algorithms.
Besides the smart content, the length of the meta description is also important. Not for SEO reasons, but because Google gives this description a certain space. A maximum of 145 characters (as of Oct. 2023) should be texted to avoid the description being cut off by the search engines. Short sentences are reader-friendly and efficient. Meta descriptions achieve attention and effectiveness by using special characters, emphasizing the USPs of a company and by a discreetly placed CTA.
Sistrix offers a free service here. With the Sistrix Snippet Generator, meta descriptions and meta titles can be created in the right length and viewed in mobile and desktop view.