SEO By The Page – 6. Meta Description Tag

An earlier article looked at meta tags in general and another at the meta keywords tag. This one is a look at the meta description tag. Like other meta tags this one is not about content that appears on your web page as seen in your browser but otherwise conveying information about your page that may be useful to others. In this case it is useful for search engines and, if done correctly, can assist in getting a better position in the search engine return pages (SERPs).

A meta description tag goes in the head section of the web page coding and will look something like this:

<meta name="description" content="Your description text goes here." />

The order and placement of the meta description tag in the head page may, according to some, have a bearing on their effectiveness. More important than either of those two things is that:

a) you actually have one, and
b) it is constructed correctly and effectively.


Since a meta tag is a single tag with no closing tag it is now correctly closed with a trailing forward slash as shown above. Having, or not having, this slash may, or may not, make a difference with the search engines but it is correct coding to have it so it is probably a good idea to do so.

In the content section of the meta description tag, between the quotation marks, you should provide a short sentence or paragraph that relates to the content of that web page. This should be written in good, effective English that is easily read but is also keyword rich. Don't overload the keywords and don't use hype, but do describe the content of the page and why someone might want to come and look at it.

Search engines use the meta description tag content for several things. They may index the content and use it as a reference test to the validity of the main page content and for this reason it should accurately reflect that content. Many search engines also use it for the content in the returns displayed to the viewer when a keyword search is done. Here is a screen capture of a Google search for the term online selling association and it shows the first several words of the meta description tag for each page as the descriptive content just below the link to the page referenced:

If you don't provide a meta description tag the search engine may find some apparently relevant text from the page content or display nothing at all. Using the tag gives you specific control over what is shown. By writing effective meta description tag content you can have direct influence over the person viewing the search results.

Here are some guidelines for writing effective meta description tags:

1. each page on your website should have a different and unique meta description tag.
2. meta description tag content should not exceed 150 to 160 characters including spaces.
3. meta description tag content should describe the actual page content.
4. write your meta description tag using full sentences and good English structure.
5. refrain from using hype but do write in a way that will catch attention.
6. use the keywords from the document title within the meta description content.