The meta description is your sales pitch in Google results. It directly influences your click-through rate (CTR).
The meta description is a 120-160 character summary that displays below the title in search results. It doesn't directly influence rankings, but strongly impacts click-through rate.
HTML code example:
<meta name="description" content="Your captivating description here. Encourage clicks!">
← This is your meta description. It should summarize the page content and encourage the user to click...
Google displays about 155-160 characters on desktop and 120 characters on mobile. Aim for 120-155 to be safe.
Encourage the user to act. Use action verbs.
Explain what the user will find and why it's relevant to them.
✓ Good example
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✗ Bad example
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Each page should have its own meta description, adapted to its specific content. Duplicate descriptions dilute your impact.