How important is it in SEO? I heard that the title tag, content, and description META are the only ways for Google to see your keywords, because they don't use the keyword tag. Is it important to have keyword rich, Description META tags?
The Description tag has little or no effect on your ranking. It does however, have an effect on what searchers see - search engines often use your description tag to create the description shown to searchers.
Great reply, Adam. If anything, the search engines will weight the Meta description the same as they would on-page copy. However, it is much more important because you are trying to get human visitors to come to your site and convert on whatever you are trying to get them to do. Think of the Meta description tag as ad copy, the same as you would an Adwords ad.
No more to answer. Adam has already done it. So keep tracking on it. Hope you will get better result.
Both of these are really some excellent answers! I agree 100% with everything stated here. I have seen a lot of folks who say that Google ignores the description tag, but that is not true and can easily be proven. I cant really add much to what these two posters have said, I just wanted to say that they are both correct. (hint hint - they Definitely deserve rep!)
I have to disagree slightly, I personally think that Google does give a bit of weight to the description tag. For example I use a phrase in the title and then a varient in the description (which is not usually on the page itself) and I get ranked. Perhaps it works in less competative fields only, but I wouldn't rule it out.
Yes i also agree with you that it does hold some weight, although not alot. On some test sites i have experimented with this, and have been able to positively and negatively shift my SERP's on normally very stable keywords by altering the Meta Descriptions.
It's probably the single most important change you can make to a web site. Without it, your description in an SE looks like crap. It's the first place your keywords are seen, and beyond just the SE, it is the first place a potential visitor gets an impression of your site. When you come up in a search result what looks better: A clear concise description of your site, or complete gooblidygook? Yes, it is extremely important... And yes, most SE's still use the META...
for me meta description can help your site, though it can give so much benefit to your SERP. Meta description is an overview of your site,therefore possible it can give some weigh to your site.
Also, as Adam said, the description meta tag is the first impression you get to make to the people who are looking at the link to your page (note I said PAGE, not site) in the search results listings. As with all first impressions, you need to make it count. I really wouldn't leave things to chance here, and instead consult with a professional Web copywriter like Linda Jenkinson or Robert Warren to produce some copy that will make people want to click that link and choose your site over the others (and then once they're there, compel them to do what you want them to do).
I agree. And also even the meta description has little weight in google I think other search engines still gives value to meta tags. And if you put meta tags, you won't lose anything. I think meta tags also use for making every page of the site unique from each other.