Google has issued recommendations on how to craft improved meta descriptions for search results.
Additionally, the company has updated how meta descriptions are rendered to enhance their utility.
## How Google Generates Meta Descriptions
When determining which information to display in a search snippet, Google first examines the page content to extract the most relevant details.
If the page’s content isn’t the best source for the user’s query, Google will use the manually written meta description for the search snippet.
Previously, if neither the page content nor a meta description was ideal, Google would source information from DMOZ. With DMOZ now defunct, Google no longer relies on this web directory for generating snippets.
This change underscores the importance of writing effective meta descriptions. Google elaborates on what constitutes a good meta description:
> “Good meta descriptions are short blurbs that describe accurately the content of the page. They are like a pitch that convinces the user that the page is exactly what they’re looking for.”
Common mistakes site owners should avoid include neglecting to create meta descriptions, using the same description across all pages, and writing off-topic, spammy, or low-quality descriptions.
While there is no strict character limit for meta descriptions, Google notes that they will be truncated to fit the viewing device’s width.
The NOODP robots directive, which used to prevent Google from using DMOZ for snippets, is no longer necessary.
