Meta description
What is a meta description?
A meta description is an HTML tag in the page’s <head> that gives a short summary of the page. Search engines may show it as the snippet of text under the title in search results. Google says it is not a ranking factor, but a clear, relevant description can persuade more people to click.
Google uses the meta description when it thinks it describes the page better than text from the page itself. Otherwise it builds a snippet from the page content that matches the query, so the same page can show different snippets for different searches. Descriptions are truncated by width, so around 150 to 160 characters is a common target. Google also supports nosnippet and max-snippet rules in the meta robots tag to limit snippets.
Why meta description matters for SEO
The snippet is your sales pitch on the SERP. A specific description that matches the searcher’s intent can raise click-through rate even if your position doesn’t change.
Missing or duplicate descriptions are a common audit issue. They don’t cause penalties, but they give Google less to work with and waste an opportunity.
How to write a meta description
- Summarise what the page offers in one or two sentences.
- Include the main keyword naturally; Google bolds words matching the query.
- Add a concrete detail or reason to click: price, steps, time, what’s included.
- Keep it to roughly 150 to 160 characters.
- Write a unique description for each important page; for large templated sites, generate them from page data.
- Don’t promise what the page doesn’t deliver.
Meta description example
<meta name="description" content="Learn to make a sourdough starter with just flour and water in 7 days. Daily photos, feeding schedule and fixes for common problems.">Meta description FAQ
Is the meta description a ranking factor?
No. Google has said meta descriptions don’t affect rankings. They matter because they can improve click-through rate.
Why is Google not showing my meta description?
Google builds its own snippet when it thinks page text matches the query better than your description. Making the description specific and relevant to the page’s main queries helps.
How long should a meta description be?
There is no official limit, but snippets are truncated to fit the screen. Around 150 to 160 characters keeps the main message visible.
Related SEO terms
A title tag is the HTML element that names a page. Google often uses it as the clickable headline in results, so it affects rankings and clicks.
Click-through rate (CTR) is the share of impressions that become clicks: clicks divided by impressions. It shows how often searchers choose your result.
Rich snippets are search results enhanced with extra details, such as review stars, prices or cooking times, usually from structured data.
A meta robots tag is an HTML tag that tells search engines whether to index a page, follow its links and how to show it in results.
On-page SEO is optimising the content and HTML of each page, such as text, title tag, headings, images and internal links, to rank and earn clicks.