{"id":2521,"date":"2022-10-20T23:45:06","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T23:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/singularity.digital\/?p=2521"},"modified":"2026-01-28T03:32:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T03:32:56","slug":"meta-descriptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/singularity.digital\/pt\/insights\/meta-descriptions\/","title":{"rendered":"Meta descriptions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Why you need to write them, even though Google probably won\u2019t pay attention<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Meta descriptions are short blurbs that appear under the title of your web page in search engine results pages (SERPs). They’re meant to provide potential visitors with a brief summary of what the page is about, and can encourage them to click through to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though Google will often replace them with a snippet from your page content, it\u2019s still important to write your own there as a quality fallback, if nothing else.  We\u2019re going to run through some simple, actionable tips that\u2019ll help you write more compelling meta descriptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are meta descriptions, exactly?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you search for something on Google, the text results you see will have two elements: the blue, clickable page title<\/a> (aka title tag) and the black description underneath. That description is what’s known as your meta description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Screenshot<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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How you apply a meta description depends entirely on the platform you’re using. The steps required for WordPress are very different to Squarespace and Wix, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To check the meta description on a page, though, you’ll always find it in the page source, looking something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<meta name=”description” content=”This is where you’ll find the meta description for any page in the page source” \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doesn’t Google just use snippets to overwrite my descriptions?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Quite often, yeah. To offer the most relevant information in the SERP, Google will often use a snippet of content from your web page that closely relates to the searcher’s intent. For example, if you have a page about a particular TV and someone was searching for the weight of that TV, Google may replace your meta description with a snippet that mentions that model’s weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing is, even though they do this quite often, “quite often” isn’t \u201calways\u201d. AI may be getting unnervingly effective at this type of decision making but it’s not perfect. You should always be writing your own meta descriptions as a safe and effective fallback when the search term was generic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meta descriptions are for users, not search engines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While title tags are a factor for both rankings and user engagement, meta descriptions have zero impact on your ranking. You will never increase your rankings by rewriting a meta description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, before you go deleting that Asana task and ignoring them across your website, remember that rankings aren’t everything. Search engines don’t buy your product, users do<\/b>. Effective meta descriptions are there to convince a user that your website is the search result they need to click on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Meta Descriptions That Work<\/h3>\n \n

Meta descriptions might be small, but they can make a big difference in clicks. We break down what works and share tips to make yours stronger.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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