What is a meta description?
Definition
A meta description is a short summary of a web page, written into the page's code, that search engines may show under the page's title in search results. Visitors don't see it on the page itself. A good one tells a searcher, in a sentence or two, what the page offers and why to click.
Why meta descriptions still matter
The meta description is your sales line on the results page. It doesn't lift your ranking by itself, but it can decide whether someone picks your link or the one below it. It works alongside your page title, which carries more weight with search engines.
Google often writes its own snippet instead, usually when your description doesn't match what the person searched. It borrows words from the page, often from the opening lines, so make those say what you want people to read too. A clear first paragraph is your backup description.
There's no fixed length. Google trims snippets to fit the screen, so put the important words first and keep it to a sentence or two. Give every page its own: when all your pages share one description, searchers can't tell them apart.
Write it for the page and the trade. For plumbing companies, an emergency page might say: "24-hour emergency plumbing in Boise. Licensed plumbers, upfront prices and a real person on the phone at 2 a.m." For restaurants, name the food and the neighborhood on the menu page. For dental practices, say who you see and whether you're taking new patients.
How to write a good meta description
- Start with what the page is about, in the words people search.
- Name your town or area when the page is about local work.
- Add one reason to choose you: your hours, a guarantee or free estimates.
- Write a different description for every page you want found.
- Keep it true to the page, so the click doesn't disappoint.
- Read it aloud. If it sounds like a list of keywords, rewrite it.
How Future handles it
On Future, every published page has a search title and description written for it, on any plan, and you can rewrite one yourself whenever it doesn't sound like you.
A description sells the click; the page has to keep the promise. Pair each one with a page that answers the search, and the call to action that page needs.