Barry is also the founder of the Search Engine Roundtable and the News Editor of Search Engine Land .
The usefulness comes from sometimes writing a meta description, "helps you to figure out a clear focus for a page," John wrote on Reddit.
Now, in 2018, John said that it is best to fill in your meta descriptions, Google even added examples of good meta descriptions in its help documentation.
However, a study in 2018 showed Google rarely used your meta descriptions and even Matt Cutts in 2013 said he didn't write meta descriptions.
Most CMS platforms give you a quick way to add meta descriptions or automate the whole process anyway.
Barry Schwartz is the CEO of RustyBrick and a technologist, a New York Web service firm specializing in customized online technology that helps companies decrease costs and increase sales. Barry is also the founder of the Search Engine Roundtable and the News Editor of Search Engine Land . He is well known & respected for his expertise in the search marketing industry. He only provides consulting services to expert SEOs and also performs search marketing expert witness services. Barry graduated from the City University of New York and lives with his family in the NYC region. You can follow Barry on Twitter at @rustybrick or on LinkedIn and read his full bio over here
Google's John Mueller said that while it is useful for site owners to add meta descriptions to their web pages, it is "definitely not a requirement," he added. The usefulness comes from sometimes writing a meta description, "helps you to figure out a clear focus for a page," John wrote on Reddit.
John Mueller wrote on Reddit:
Yes, but also, there's no penalty to writing your own, and sometimes it helps you to figure out a clear focus for a page. Overall, I think it's still worthwhile to do so for individual pages that you care about, but it's definitely not a requirement.
Now, in 2018, John said that it is best to fill in your meta descriptions, Google even added examples of good meta descriptions in its help documentation. However, a study in 2018 showed Google rarely used your meta descriptions and even Matt Cutts in 2013 said he didn't write meta descriptions.
Most CMS platforms give you a quick way to add meta descriptions or automate the whole process anyway.
Forum discussion at Reddit.
