Does Google want contact numbers in the meta description?!

[Jacksons_Fencing]

Reading up it seems like there's complete free reign to enter what you want in the meta description and they are not considered a direct ranking signal

However I have added contact numbers to the meta descriptions for around 20 reasonably high ranking pages for my company and it seems to have had a negative effect (taken screen grabs and previous rankings)

More strangely when you 'inspect' the page the meta description features the desired number yet when you find the page in the serps the meta description just does not feature the number (page has been cached and the description does not carry on)

I'm wondering whether such direct changes are seen as spam and therefore negative to the page?

[BlueCorona]

Adding your contact number is allowed, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it -- especially if you use tracked phone numbers on your website to track the leads coming in organically, direct, paid, etc.

i recommend mkaing your meta descriptions catchy and include a call to action that will entice them to click through to your site, which is where they will find your contact information.

[Jacksons_Fencing]

Linda, EGOL - thanks for your help

[Linda-Vassily]

Google uses meta descriptions as suggestions and then shows whatever it thinks is most useful to the searcher.

So if Google is not showing the phone numbers, it's because Google doesn't think they best answer the intent of the search, not because they are "spam".

And I agree with EGOL, don't give away all your information in the SERPs, get people to click for it.

[EGOL]

I wouldn't add phone numbers in the meta description because I want people to click into my website - rather than see a number in the meta description, then dial.

Write your meta description to elicit the click.   Google knows when searchers click, they don't know when they dial.

Do everything possible to elicit the click... offer free phone consultations, free beer, anything to get the searcher into your website.     Just make sure that you deliver what you use to elicit the click.