The ability to tweak meta descriptions and titles to improve click-through rates is a key part of SEO. <!-- more --> Fortunately, it takes about 30 seconds to add meta descriptions and titles in the Middleman static site generator.
Add the following to <code>layout.erb</code> between the head tags:
<meta content="<%= current_page.data.description || data.site.description %>" name="description" />
Then specify a description in the YAML frontmatter. Remember that the upper limit for meta descriptions is 160 characters.
---
title: On the Origin of Species
date: '1859-11-24 00:00:00'
tags:
- evolution
description: The scientific theory that
populations evolve over the course of
generations through a process of
natural selection.
---
You can confirm that the meta description is working by viewing the source.