Within the SEO Course there is this question: -
You need a meta description because it: (Choose all that apply.)
1. increases clickthrough rates and visits from organic search.
2 .allows search engine crawlers to scan the content of your page.
3. gives the right people the right information at the right time.
4. increases visits from social.
The answer from the quiz is 1, 2 and 4 ???
Why 4? I think this is an error.
Option 4, “increases visits from social,” is generally not considered a primary function of a meta description. However, it’s worth noting that some social platforms may pull the meta description when a link is shared on their network.
In cases where a page’s meta description is well-crafted and engaging, it could potentially enhance the appeal of the shared link and encourage more clicks from social media users. This is not a guaranteed or standard effect, but it’s conceivable in some scenarios.
So, while it’s not a typical or primary reason for having a meta description, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that it could indirectly influence visits from social media in some cases. It’s still more accurate to focus on options 1 and 3 as the primary purposes for a meta description in the context of SEO.
But we are not doing social media?
Anyone else agree?
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October 2025 and it’s still stating answers 1, 3 and 4 are correct - is this the case? I thought answers 1, 2 and 3 would be correct, with more focus on 1 and 3. I am currently Googling to learn if meta descriptions do actually improve social media relevance.
I’m just doing it now and now they are saying it is 1,2 and 3 - three being ‘the right people at the right time’ (a bit esoteric I think - who are the ‘right’ people - all sorts of randoms click on links for seemingly no reason in real likfe). Point 4 is the social click through which I agree should be correct and they actually say in the course that social media will show the meta description - and they are correct - so why 4 is not a correct answer I have no idea.