What is the ideal meta description length?

What is the ideal meta description length?If you search for a single keyword such as “marketing” you will get the standard 2 line 150 character snippet that contains “marketing”  in it. If you search for a short phrase such as ‘internet marketing” then you will still get the standard 2 line 150 character snippet since the search engine results pages are still able get the shorter phrase in the allotted space availableNow try a search on a longer phrase like “Internet Marketing in Cary NC” you may find an extended snippet up to 3 lines from some sites and 2 lines for others depending on whether the search engine was able to find all these keywords phrases in 2 lines or 3 lines.Keep adding words to “Internet Marketing in Cary NC” and the search engines will keep lengthening the descriptions to accommodate the important words in the snippet.Chances are you have heard someone tell you that meta-tags are passé and you needn’t worry about them. If you have received advice like this be afraid… very afraid. Your meta tag containing your page description is very important.I recommend you write a meta tag description about 250 words long and use the extra words to beef up your message and improve your click through rate.Read More In This Series Folder and File Names: Use Keywords For Better Search ResultsWriting Anchor Text Links With KeywordsBasic Content Writing Tips For Better Search ResultsPage Description Meta Tags: Writing For Better Search ResultsPage Title HTML Tags: Writing Tips For Better Search Results