Meta Description Tags – Easy and Important

Though they do not play an active role in where you land in search, they are the primary item displayed in any search result. They are the snippet of “more info” that will decide first impression. Would you leave that up to chance? The answer is, “of course not.” But many do unknowingly as meta description tags are often the afterthought. If no meta tag is given, then search engines populate one on their own. Gasp!

Let’s take a look at a random example:

I google “oregon banking” and see both quality and nonexistent meta tags.

You’ll notice Liberty Bank and Northwest Community Credit Union have very on message desciption below their link, and The Commerce Bank of Oregon does not. Take a look at your area of business and see if the auto generated tag is what you want, if not consider adding meta desciption tags to your pages.

This is the primary decision point where you are likely standing alongside your competition, so focus on not only what describes the page well, but what will make you stand out from the others on the page. Don’t be afraid to be a little different.