In SEO, what is the purpose of meta descriptions?

The correct answer is based on the primary function of meta descriptions in search engine optimization (SEO). Meta descriptions serve as brief summaries of a web page's content, typically displayed beneath the page title in search engine results. Their purpose is to provide searchers with a quick insight into what the page contains so they can determine whether it is relevant to their query. A well-crafted meta description can encourage users to click on the link, thereby improving the click-through rate (CTR) for that specific page.

While enhancing website graphics, facilitating customer inquiries, and increasing downtime are all factors associated with web development and maintenance, they do not pertain to the role of meta descriptions in SEO. Meta descriptions are specifically intended to summarize and entice users to engage with the content of the page.