Meta Description
Here's how I actually think about meta description when I'm in the middle of a real project.
Start here
- Clarify the outcome
- Check the live SERP
- Change one thing, then measure
What I'd do first
- Clarify the outcome you need this week
- Check the live SERP for the query
- Change one page, then measure in Search Console
Plain-English take
A meta description is an HTML tag in a page’s <head> that provides a short summary of the page and is often shown as the snippet under the title in search results.
What I got wrong
- Treating it as a one-off task
- Copying someone else's playbook without checking intent
- Measuring vanity metrics instead of the job-to-be-done
Next step
Sources
Primary documentation is linked directly. Anything commercial is marked nofollow.
- Google Search Central — Primary source for how Google uses snippets and meta descriptions in search results.
- Moz Meta Description Guide — Well-known SEO reference that explains the tag, placement, and writing basics.
- Google Search Central: Snippets — Explains how Google generates and may rewrite search result snippets.
Notes from Callum Bennett.