webdude - 3:56 pm on Jan 7, 2010 (gmt 0)

For years it has been assumed that meta descriptions are not part of the algorithm and they have no direct bearing on your actual rank in Google. But think about this, folks... now that Google has introduced the personalized results for various searches, whether you like it or not, your CTR is definitely going to affect the ranking of your site for the next similar search, or a search for something in the next 180 days. Since your meta description is heavily tied to CTRs, the more robust the description that promotes CTR, the more affected your ranking in G. Though it does not tie into actual keywords in the description, or proximity, etc., (i.e. the actual algorithm), it will ow be more important then ever to realy tweak your descriptions to compel clicks. Every click through is now recorded in history so every future search will be affected.

Welcome to the new world of Personalized Search ;-)