Here's a great post by Jonathan Leger...
Getting ranked well in Google is a wonderful thing. If you choose your keywords right, it means a steady stream of free traffic to your web site. That means sales and ad revenue, and I'll take that all day long! However, I see so many people squander their rankings in Google by not taking advantage of Google's favorable view of the meta description tag.
You see, when Google shows search results, it will very often display whatever is in your meta description tag underneath the title. I've found that Google will always display the meta description content if it contains the keywords being searched for.
If you don't set your meta description tag, Google will extract pieces of the page that match the query, and it just looks awful.
Take a look at the top search results for "stereo headphones":
Let's compare the descriptions under the results:
#1 - dealtime.com
Rating: Great!
"Compare shop for stereo headphones at DealTime - read reviews and compare prices from stores all across the Web."
Now THAT'S a good description! It really nails down what the searcher will find if they click through to that site, and it draws the searcher in.
#2 - audiogear.com
Rating: Okay
"Our stereo headphones, wireless headphones and headsets by Sony are from high-quality manufacturers. Since headphones are most used by recording studios, …"
This description is okay, but it could be a lot better. The site owner is squandering the whole second half of their description because their meta description is TOO LONG. Keep your meta description under 150 characters long or else Google will chop it off.
#3 - ehow.com
Rating: Good
"How to Buy High-End Stereo Headphones. Headphones enable you to enjoy music without bothering others (or having others bother you)."
ehow's meta description provides a solid understanding of what the user will get if they visit the site, but it could be a bit catchier to really draw in the searchers.
#4 - zzsounds.com
Rating: Awful!
"AKG K240S Circumaural Stereo Headphones. Semi-Open. 55 ohms. Removable plug-in cable. Item: AKGK240STU. New. Pricing. $119.95; List: $159.00; SAVE 24% …"
Yuck yuck yuck! That description does NOTHING to pull the searcher in (in fact, neither does the title tag). The meta description on that page does not contain the keywords "stereo headphones", and so Google is pulling text from the page that matches the query instead.
Being in the top 5 is great, but you need a good click-through rate!
Yes, it doesn't matter if you're in the top 5 if nobody clicks your link because it's not appealing at all. Google, a machine, might think it's great, but remember that you're dealing with HUMANS, too. So be sure to set a meta description on every page of content, and have that meta description tailor-made for the keywords that you're wanting to rank for.
Especially in competitive markets, every little boost counts, and you want Google to show a nice, clean, appealing description underneath your page title in the search results.
Another little added bonus is that the keywords will be BOLD in the description, and that little extra bit of noticeable emphasis helps.
I see that I've not shown you how to set your meta description on the page. Not everyone knows how to do this, so here's what you do.
Between the <head> and </head> tags on your page (where the title tag resides), post the following code:
<meta name="description" content="Your description goes here.">
That will set your meta description tag.
by
Jonathan Leger