A meta description refers to a concise summary or snippet of text that provides a brief overview or description of the content found on a web page. It is an HTML attribute used within the <head> section of a webpage’s source code. Search engines often display this description in search results to provide users with a preview of what they can expect if they click on the link.
Key characteristics of a meta description include:
- Length: Typically, meta descriptions range from 150 to 160 characters. Search engines might truncate longer descriptions beyond this limit.
- Informative: A well-crafted meta description provides a succinct summary that accurately reflects the content of the webpage. It should entice users to click through to the website by highlighting the page’s relevance to their search query.
- Relevance: It should contain relevant keywords related to the page’s content to improve search engine optimisation (SEO) and increase the likelihood of the page ranking for those terms.
- Call-to-action (CTA): Sometimes, including a call-to-action within the meta description can encourage users to take a specific action, such as “Learn more,” “Shop now,” or “Discover.”