Does Google still use Meta descriptions?

[OUTsurance]

I've noticed that Google is not using my Meta description in the SERP results but rather text from my page, it seems to be a similar situation with a couple of the other sites in the same search results. Does anyone know why this would be?

[LoganRay]

When Google overrides your title tag or meta description, it usually means they don't think what you've provided will be useful for the reader. It could be over-optimized, keyword stuffed, too long, too short, or not relevant to the content on the page. I'd recommend going back through your descriptions and making some adjustments to see if they'll update what shows in search results.

[OUTsurance]

Thank you that's really helpful I think in this case it may be too short so will review them.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

Piggybacking a bit on Logan's response here - while not a ranking factor, I would make sure that if you do utilize meta descriptions (which I recommend), make sure you're enticing searcher's to click through and using it as a "first point of sale". If you have a great meta description that not only speaks to the content but also speak to the searcher's intent. Doing so will do wonders.

Hope this helps as well! Good luck!
Patrick

[BlueCorona]

Hi there!

<dl>

<dd>Google will not always show your meta description, the likelihood of your meta description appearing in the search results increases incredibly when your meta description contains the sought for keyword though, which is why the focus keyword functionality checks for the appearance of the focus keyword in the description.</dd>

</dl>

Google’s own Matt Cutts put together a great video that dissects how snippets work and how they pull from various parts of the page when they deem it necessary.

More on this topic here: https://moz.com/blog/why-wont-google-use-my-meta-description