The short summary text that appears below your page title in search results. Not a direct ranking factor, but it significantly affects whether searchers click your result.
A meta description is an HTML tag that provides a brief summary of a webpage's content. In search results, it appears as the gray text below the page title and URL — typically 150–160 characters. While Google often rewrites meta descriptions to better match specific search queries, a well-written meta description still influences how searchers perceive and engage with your result.
Meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor — Google has confirmed they don't use them for rankings. However, they have a significant indirect impact: a compelling meta description increases click-through rate (CTR) from search results, and higher CTR can improve ranking positions over time. More importantly, the meta description is often the first real impression a searcher gets of your business before they visit your site.
Effective meta descriptions for service business pages: start with the most important information (the service and location), include a clear benefit or differentiator, and end with a call to action ('Get a Free Estimate Today'). Avoid keyword stuffing, vague language, and generic phrases that could describe any business. Every page should have a unique meta description — not because Google requires it, but because different pages serve different searchers with different needs.
Meta descriptions should be written for people, not algorithms. The goal is to describe the page accurately enough that the right visitor clicks and the wrong visitor doesn't. A meta description that sets accurate expectations reduces bounce rate, because visitors who clicked based on accurate expectations are more likely to find what they came for.