Check length and pixel width, and spot pages with no description at all.
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Meta descriptions are not a ranking factor. They are the advert copy under your result, and they decide whether the person searching clicks you or the result below you. Leaving one blank hands that decision to Google, which will assemble something from your page text.
Not directly, and Google has said so plainly. They affect click-through rate, which is worth caring about on its own terms.
Google rewrites descriptions for most queries, using text from the page that matches what was searched. A well-written description is still used often enough to be worth writing.
Include the terms naturally because matched words are bolded in results, which draws the eye. Do not stuff it.
Google generates one from your page. Sometimes it is fine. Often it grabs navigation text or a stray sentence.
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