Optimizing meta tags

Meta tags, like title tags, are hidden on-page elements—they appear on the search results pages and in the code of a web page, but otherwise do not display to website visitors within the body of a web page. Many experts now agree that meta tags are no longer capable of any effect on search engine rankings, and there is a vibrant debate on the topic. However, because meta descriptions display on search engine results pages, they have a supplemental function as a click-through conversion tool. Recall that search engines only display a certain number of characters, so your meta description needs to meet certain length requirements. So, the optimum meta description tag falls within a certain character length.

The screenshot of a Google search results entry shows a well-crafted meta description tag. The big money keywords are prominent and proximate to the start of the tag. The tag is readable, persuasive without being trashy, and is perfectly sized for display on search results...