A meta description is an HTML element that briefly summarizes the content of a web page. Like the title tag, it's not actually displayed while you view the page—instead, this HTML element is tucked into the "head" of the page, like this:
Meta descriptions are found in the <head> of a webpage, in the <meta name="description"> element.
Social media platforms use the meta description as the text preview for your article or category, so like the title tag, it's a field that has a lot of reach. If you don't have a meta description, social media platforms generally just grab the first 150-ish characters they find.
Search engines will often use the meta description, but not always—sometimes they'll display a relevant fragment from the page based on the end-user's search query, instead.
KnowledgeOwl may use or display the meta description in a few places, too:
- Search results order: The meta description is one of the Search fields we automatically index, and you can adjust the Search field weights to increase or decrease how important it is. If you've
- Search results: Depending on how you've configured KB settings > Search and synonyms > Search page display > Meta description article blurbs, meta descriptions may be used as the article blurb in your knowledge base's search results.
- Category landing pages: Some category types and layouts will display an article's meta description on the page. This is especially true for blog style categories and a couple of the default categories display types. Blog style categories always display an article blurb for their articles, as in our Release notes category. If no meta description exists, these category landing pages will generally display the first sentence or two from the article itself, which may not be the most accurate summary.
The good news is that all of these use cases will benefit from you writing intentional, well-crafted meta descriptions. Following SEO best practices can also improve your readers' experience of your knowledge base in general.
KnowledgeOwl doesn't do anything to auto-populate the meta description field, so unless you've been aware of it and using it, you're missing a key SEO/social sharing opportunity.
Add or edit a meta description
To add or edit a custom meta description to your article or category:
- Open the article or category for editing.
- Enter or update the Meta Description, located below the article body editor pane:
- Be sure to Save your changes.
Tips for writing good meta descriptions
Here are some general tips on getting the most out of your meta descriptions:
- Meta descriptions should build on the title tag, expanding on it in more detail.
- Treat meta descriptions as both informative and as advertising copy: describe what's in the article or category AND encourage people to open it. Think about why someone might be looking for this article and try to address that why.
- Aim for something between 50 and 150 characters.
- Most search engines truncate meta descriptions around the 150-160 character mark. You want them to be long enough to provide a good description but not so long that the important details get truncated out.
- Write a unique meta description for each article and category in your knowledge base.
- Avoid standard/double quotation marks ("...") in meta descriptions. Google and other search engines will often truncate the description where these exist.
- Use an active voice.
- Not sure where to begin? If you're using Google Search Console or any other SEO/search tracking tool, find the articles and categories that are generating the most clicks or organic traffic for you and focus on improving those meta descriptions first.
Learn more
Here are two resources to help you dig further into meta descriptions:
- moz.com's Meta Description
- ahrefs.com's How to Write the Perfect Meta Description
And if you're working on SEO optimization, check out Kate's blog post Knowledge base SEO tips for those of us who hate SEO.