Are Meta Descriptions Really Necessary?

[_JP_]

We use them for some of our key landing pages, but for the majority of our pages (product pages, really) we let Google decide what to use for the meta description. These pages get a lot of medium to long-tail traffic and I feel like Google is going to do a better job of inserting bolded, keyword rich text from the page content and generating a better CTR than if I were to plug something in there myself.

Would I be better off optimizing the the description for more of a direct match keyword instead of doing what I'm doing now (using Google generated descriptions to optimize for medium to long-tail keywords)?

[SoleGraphics]

Meta descriptions are NOT a must, however they have been correlated with higher CTR. Here's a way to check if you should add meta descriptions.

Do the search site:(insert your site).com or site:www.(insert your site).com, if the metas that are being shown make your happy then Google is delivering a good description.

Many times what Google comes up with is crap. Also meta descriptions are great for you marketing message.

[Vahe.Arabian]

Hey JP,

I agree with the above comment, as meta descriptions make are part of your websites realestate on Google's search results. However based on Moz's SEO guide, you are correct in saying that you don't always need to write the meta description. Read here for more information - http://moz.com/learn/seo/meta-description

[DonnaDuncan]

Not to be a smart ass or anything, but it sounds like you answered your own question JP.

There is no right or wrong answer to "are meta descriptions really necessary". Often times it is best to let Google self-generate the meta description so it matches the intent of the user query. Especially when, as it sounds like in your case, you're talking about an ecommerce site with maybe (?) a lot of product pages and long-tail keyword queries your pages could be eligible to rank for. In my mind, the real question is whether you'd be better off spending your time creating great content, or trying to craft unique meta description tags for product pages that are already "generating a better CTR than if I were to plug something in there myself."

It's a judgment call.