Do Meta Description Influence Google Rankings?

Meta descriptions are the short paragraphs of text that appear beneath a website’s URL on the search engine results pages (SERPs). Many experts in the industry put a lot of effort into making excellent meta descriptions, believing that they can significantly affect one’s website SEO ranking. But can they really help in improving website SEO?

In this blog, we will take a look at what meta descriptions are, whether or not they influence website SEO rankings and how you can write effective ones for your website.

John Mueller, Google’s webmaster trends analyst, was asked about the use of meta descriptions in search rankings.

Mueller said that Google generally recommends using unique meta descriptions on web pages. However, it’s not clear if this influence is related to rankings.

Meta Element

The meta tag is a representation of a web page’s content. It describes the information that’s presented in the page’s contents.

The meta tag has various attributes that help it describe the different properties of a web page. These attributes can be used by a browser or a web crawler to retrieve information from the page.

For instance:

• A meta robots tag is used to communicate with crawlers.
• A meta refresh tag is used to communicate with a browser.

Many additional meta tags are used to communicate directly with search engines and browsers, such as the following:

• meta name=”viewport”
• meta http-equiv=”refresh”
• meta name=”google-site-verification”
• meta name=”googlebot” content=”notranslate”

The meta element data is not meant to be viewed directly by site visitors. However, it can be seen through the search results.

Meta Description

The W3C is a standards-making body that is responsible for developing HTML.

The W3C’s meta description specification says that it’s designed to be used by search engines.

It states that the value of the description attribute must be a “free-form string” and that it should “describe the page”. It also says that the value should be appropriate for use in a directory of pages, like a search engine.

The name attribute of a meta element should not be set to more than one value description in a document.

The Use of Meta Descriptions by Google

According to Google’s documentation, meta descriptions are used to generate search results snippets.

The meta description of a website is very important when it comes to search results. It will help potential visitors find the website they are looking for and provide them with an idea of what the page is about.

Although there is no limit to the length of a meta description, search engines can limit how much of it they display. This is because the limit is determined by the device that the users are using.

Is Google Using Meta Descriptions to Determine Ranking?

The person who asked Mueller was specifically asking about adding location name information to the meta description and if it would help rankings.

The question asked was, “Does adding the location name in the meta description matter to Google in terms of ranking if the content quality is maintained”?

In response, Mueller stated that the meta description is not a website SEO ranking factor. The meta description is primarily used as a snippet on the SERP and can influence whether someone clicks through to a website or not. While it won’t directly impact rankings, having a well-crafted meta description can be beneficial for click-through rate (CTR).

In short, adding the location name in the meta description will not improve one’s rankings directly, but it may help increase CTR.

The Impact of Meta Descriptions on SEO

There’s a lot of information about HTML meta elements that people should know. Understanding the various elements of a website’s meta tag and the background information helps improve website on-page SEO.

Every website has to be analysed to find the most relevant content that will answer questions and provide one with the most relevant information. A website’s meta description should be an advertisement for the website’s purpose. It should tell users why the site will provide them with the most relevant content for their query.

A study conducted in 2020 revealed that about 75% of pages in the top 10 most popular sites have a meta description. This means that higher SERP positions are associated with higher click-through rates.

According to a study conducted by SEMRush, website traffic is the most important factor that influences a website’s position in search engines. It is followed by factors such as organic traffic and social media presence and others including:

• Pages per session
• Total referring domains
• Bounce rate
• Time on site

The relationship between direct visits and higher SERP rankings is more causal in this case.

Overall, it is more accurate to say that meta descriptions don’t directly cause better website SEO performance. With that said, meta descriptions can indirectly lead to higher rankings by means of:

• Increased visibility
• Higher click-through rates
• Better traffic

Optimise Meta Descriptions for Better Website Performance

Your meta description can be thought of as a billboard that advertises your website. It should be as effective as your website’s content and should be as persuasive as possible. As such, having the right meta description is very important for search engine optimisation.

Before you start writing a meta description, it’s crucial that you understand its importance. This will give you the insights you need in order to create an effective one.

At position1seo.co.uk, we have a team of expert copywriters who will make sure that your meta descriptions are well written, persuasive and effective.

We also offer other professional SEO services, including link building, on-page optimisation, and much more.

To learn more about our services and start boosting your SEO today, visit our homepage, or contact us for a free consultation at jason@position1seo.com.