Writing a Summary and Why it is Required

What are Summary Fields used for?

Summary Fields help with Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, for search engines like Google, Bing, and more. These Summary Fields are used to display results to users and can also impact your page search results ranking.

summary field for search engines

What should go in the Summary Field?

Summary/Meta descriptions should be less than 175 characters, including spaces. They should be direct, describing what people will find on the page. Ideally, they’ll help people click to your page from a search engine or social media share.

  • Formula: Action + topic introduction + organization name
  • Example: Explore Iowa highway crash data and statistics for 2010 to present from the Department of Transportation

Do not leave the Summary field blank. It's a required field in the author experience/admin and necessary for user experience and accessibility.

  • Appears on Google Search
  • Displays in lists

In the past, some websites automatically copied the first few sentences into the meta description. Now, it’s best to create a new, relevant description or teaser.