Meta Description

A meta description is the short summary of a page that often appears under the title in search results. It isn’t a direct ranking factor, but it’s your ad copy on the results page.

Why it matters

A well-written meta description — clear, specific, with a reason to click — can lift your click-through rate even when your ranking doesn’t change. Leave it blank and Google writes its own from page text, usually less persuasively.

Common misreading

Stuffing it with keywords. Its job is to make a human click, not to game the algorithm. Write it for the reader.