As Michal Pecánek noted in a blog post on Ahrefs, a data-driven marketing toolset powered by a massive index of backlinks, keywords, and content, meta descriptions are not a ranking factor but can entice more clicks and lead to more traffic. However, Google does not always use hardcoded meta descriptions and sometimes chooses a different snippet from a web page.
To understand how often this happens, Pecánek compared hardcoded meta descriptions with Google desktop snippets for 20,000 keywords. He found that 25.02 percent of top-ranking pages do not have a meta description.
The proportion of URLs without meta descriptions by position ranking included:
Pecánek noted the Spearman correlation was 0.28, which is considered weak. Based on a study of 192,656 pages ranking in the top 10, he reported that Google rewrites meta descriptions 62.78 percent of the time. The number dropped to 59.65 percent for fat-head and rose to 65.62 percent for long-tails. In other words, Google generates descriptions more often for long-tail keywords.
Pecánek wrote that this was based on the fact that the average first-page result ranks for hundreds of keywords, and the hardcoded descriptions are usually written around the primary “head” keyword. As a result, Google shows a hardcoded description in the results for the target keyword but not for some long-tail keywords the post ranks for.
This occurs because the hardcoded description is less relevant to long-tail keywords, making it more sense for Google to choose its snippet. While Google is more likely to rewrite meta descriptions for long-tail keywords, it’s only by a small margin.
Pecánek said the gap will grow over time as Google better understands search intent and provides the most relevant search snippets. He noted that the methodology used was imperfect because it was impossible to identify fat heads and long tails with 100 percent certainty. He then provided a link to the Ahrefs Meta Descriptions Study Methodology for reference.
It was also noted that Google is slightly less likely to rewrite meta descriptions that truncate while truncating meta descriptions that are too long. Data showed that Google rewrote 61.46 percent of meta descriptions that were too long and 63.69 percent of the rest. In other words, keeping meta descriptions within limits does not significantly reduce the probability of Google rewriting them. Pecánek reported that 40.61 percent of the 192,656 unique pages’ descriptions studied were too long.
If you are wondering whether to bother writing meta descriptions, relevant and compelling meta descriptions still entice clicks. This is true even when they only show an average of 37 percent of the time. Pecánek recommended prioritizing pages that already get organic traffic, were created to rank in Google, and are likely to be shared on social media (where the meta description will be used for the social snippet description in the absence of OG tags). He said this approach should have the most impact for the least amount of work.
In a separate blog post about meta descriptions, Neil Patel wrote that there were three reasons you should still use meta descriptions. First, keywords or phrases will be bolded in search results wherever they appear, so your top keyword phrase should be in your SEO title and meta description. He further noted that the top networks, as well as social bookmarking networks, use meta descriptions. Patel wrote that an often neglected value of meta descriptions is that you can craft your descriptions to be called to action.
SEO Content in Houston, TX
The content writing team at SERP Matrix can provide you with winning meta descriptions and actual website content. Our team understands the most compelling descriptions of web pages that will most likely lead to clicks and conversions. We can offer detailed keyword analysis to help you target your customers. When we deliver content, you will also receive suggested meta descriptions that can accurately summarize your web page in a search engine and encourage more website visitors.
We also handle link building, which can sometimes incorporate meta descriptions. Our team will earn you links from only the highest-quality sources, such as educational websites, government websites, video websites, news or journalism-related websites, web directories, RSS directories, blogs, forums, publishers, social media, and membership organizations.
A complete audit can be used to discover any HTTP 404 Not Found Errors users encounter when webpages can not be found on the server. Our meta descriptions will lead to additional link possibilities. You can also count on SERP Matrix for local SEO concerns such as Name, Address, and Phone Number (commonly abbreviated simply as NAP) data. We will ensure that meta descriptions can sometimes target particular areas and demographics.
We can ensure that keywords and locations are incorporated into virtually every element of your website content, including the title tag, header tag, ALT tag (the ALT attribute within the HTML IMG tag), website or landing page URL, and the actual page content. Our efforts can work together seamlessly to ensure that your meta descriptions accurately convey the information on your web page.
You can also count on us to help you with search engine submission when concerned about displaying your meta descriptions. SERP Matrix handles meta descriptions in major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo as well as other popular search engines such as Alexa, AOL, Ask, Baidu, Bing, Dogpile, DuckDuckGo, Internet Archive, Quora, StartPage, WolframAlpha, and Yandex.
SERP Matrix offers web design and development services that include work on static websites, dynamic websites, e-commerce websites, corporate websites, small business websites, mobile applications and websites, responsive websites, content management system (CMS) websites, personal websites, government websites, and non-profit organization websites. We know how to ensure that every page on your website has an accurate and compelling meta description, so there is never any issue with search engines incorrectly describing web pages.
SERP Matrix also offers social media marketing and video marketing services. Our website has customer reviews and information about all of our other digital services.
Houston Digital Marketing
Are you struggling to get the right meta descriptions for your web pages to display in major search engines? If you need help with any online issue, do not hesitate to contact SERP Matrix.
SERP Matrix is an experienced digital marketing agency with a proven track record of success that includes companies from manufacturing, real estate, healthcare, service professionals, auto dealerships, nonprofits, fashion, and retailers to startup businesses with highly focused local clientele. You can have us discuss your specific needs and what we can offer when you call (713) 287-1134 or contact us online for a free consultation.
