Meta tags, the little descriptions in your website code that look like this: are still an important SEO factor. They were ditched by the big G and Yahoo, deemed as useless in ranking terms. Now with the introduction of personalised searchs with Google the meta description is now a factor to be taken seriously again.

Although Meta descriptions are no longer part of the ranking algorithm a good description is a critical factor that determines the CTR (click-through-rate) of your site in search results. The more compelling and inviting the meta description is, the more likely searchers will click it. When users click through to your site from search results this is recorded in their Web History. Next time they search for a product or service related to your site, it may appear higher up in their personalised search results.

Since everyone now gets personalised results whether logged into a Google account or not, the scope of the effect your Meta descriptions could have on your rankings can be significant. That’s another reason why you should invest some time into testing and optimising your Meta descriptions.

The main thing is to keep the meta descriptions keyword rich but in a structure that will induce the prefered user response (a click).