Lesson 11
Meta Descriptions: What Matters (and What Doesn’t)
What you’ll learn
By the end of this lesson, you’ll understand:
What meta descriptions are used for
How they influence search results
When to write them — and when not to worry
What a meta description is
A meta description is the short summary text that often appears beneath the title in search results.
Unlike title tags:
- Meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor
- Search engines may rewrite them
Their primary purpose is to help users decide whether to click.
What meta descriptions are good for
A good meta description:
- Expands on the title
- Sets expectations clearly
- Encourages the right clicks (not just more clicks)
It should support the title, not repeat it.
When Google rewrites meta descriptions
Search engines may ignore your meta description if:
- It doesn’t match the search query
- It’s too generic
- It doesn’t reflect the page content well
This is normal — and not a penalty.
Your goal is to provide a good default, not control every snippet.
How much effort to put in
Meta descriptions are worth writing when:
- The page is important
- The page has a clear purpose
- You want to control messaging
They’re less important for:
- Minor pages
- Low-traffic content
- Pages that change frequently
Don’t spend hours perfecting them — clarity beats cleverness.
What to avoid
Avoid:
- Keyword stuffing
- Over-promising
- Writing descriptions that don’t match the content
- Leaving auto-generated nonsense unreviewed
A simple, honest summary is enough.
A realistic expectation
Think of meta descriptions as:
Helpful hints, not guarantees.
They improve presentation, not rankings.