Insert a meta description by adding a single line in your HTML document's <head> section: <meta name="description" content="Your 150–160 character summary here">. This tag tells search engines what snippet to display under your page title in search results. The content attribute holds your actual description text. Write it in plain language that accurately summarizes the page and includes your primary keyword naturally. Google typically displays 150–160 characters on desktop and slightly less on mobile, so front-load the most important information. Anything beyond 160 characters gets cut off with an ellipsis. Place this tag anywhere inside <head>, but we typically position it near the <title> tag for organizational clarity. If you're using a CMS like WordPress, most SEO plugins (Yoast, Rank Math, All in One SEO) let you set this without touching code. For custom HTML sites or Next.js/React builds, you hard-code it or generate it dynamically per page. Common mistakes to avoid: - Duplicating the same description across multiple pages—each page needs a unique one - Stuffing keywords unnaturally—Google ignores or rewrites these - Leaving it blank—Google will auto-generate one from your page content, usually poorly - Writing it longer than 160 characters and burying the hook at the end Meta descriptions don't directly influence rankings, but they affect click-through rate, which does matter. At Ottawa SEO, we write them as mini-ads: one sentence that answers the user's query and one sentence that adds urgency or specificity. For example, for a local HVAC client in Ottawa, we'd write something like "Licensed HVAC repair serving Ottawa since 2008. Same-day emergency service, upfront pricing, 5-year parts warranty." That beats a generic "We offer quality HVAC services in the Ottawa area." If Google doesn't use your meta description (they rewrite about 60% of them based on the query), it usually means your description didn't match search intent or your page content contradicts it. Check Search Console's Performance report to see what Google is actually showing.