Definition
The meta description tag is used to add a description to a page so that users understand its topic:
This tag has no direct impact on your positions, but it remains very important for 2 reasons: 1) if optimized with the right keywords, Google doesn't look for any phrase in the content of the page to match the request of the user, allowing you to control what the user sees on Google 2) it acts directly on the click rate you get by encouraging the user to choose your result rather than another one
How to optimize it for SEO?
The 3 meta description's main criteria:
It must contain your query's main keywords. On the request "cheap shoes" above, we find the keyword in the tag.
It must not exceed 155 characters to be displayed in full, even if it is sometimes possible to find longer ones on certain requests. A method can consist in making a first complete sentence in less than 155 characters, followed by a 2nd sentence: that way, if Google changes its mind, you don't have to rewrite all the tags on your site.
Attractiveness: Put forward a value proposition, or in any case encourage clicks, which is the main objective of this tag. In the above example, we see that Sarenza tells us that "delivery and returns are free".
Useful recommendations to optimize your meta description tag
To avoid being considered as spam by search engines, use sentences with verbs, moreover it will give meaning to your description. Above all, do not use a succession of keywords in a chain.
How to set it up?
To create or modify the tag, you just have to modify the page's HTML code, in the <head> tag that corresponds to the header of the HTML document.
Overall:
Most of the time, if you use a CMS (content management system), you just have to modify it in the GUI (user Interface)
An example on Wordpress :
For an e-merchant:
For an e-commerce or a marketplace site, it is often simpler and recommended to automate the creation of your meta description tags, following well-defined rules according to the types of pages: product page, category page, etc.
You know everything about the meta description tag, it's up to you to optimize your pages!