Meta Description
In short
The meta description is a short summary of a page in its HTML code that search engines may show as the snippet below the title in search results. It does not directly affect ranking, but it does affect whether someone clicks. Google uses it when it describes the page more accurately than an extract from the page text – otherwise Google picks the snippet itself.
What a good meta description does
It says in one sentence what the page offers and names the benefit: not "Welcome to our website" but what the reader will learn or get there. The page's main topic comes early.
Every page needs its own. Google explicitly says that identical or similar descriptions on every page are not helpful.
The most common misconception: the description decides what is shown
Google decides per query whether the meta description or an extract from the page text fits better. A good description raises the chance that it is used – it is not a guarantee.
Google sets no fixed character limit; snippets are truncated by width. Around 150 characters has proven a sound range, because the core then stays fully visible on a phone as well.
The Swiss angle
For pages aimed at Swiss readers, Swiss conventions count: prices in CHF, place names as people search for them, and in German "ss" instead of the Eszett. A description that sounds like it was written for another market looks out of place in the results – even if the content is right.
How we handle it
We write every description by hand for the query the page is meant to carry, and check in Search Console whether it gets clicked. More under search engine optimisation; for the title above it, see keyword.
Related terms
A term in your quote that nobody explained?
In a strategy call we translate the offer in front of you – even when it did not come from us.