Meta description

A meta description is the short summary of a page that search engines often show under its title in results. It doesn't directly affect ranking, but a good one wins the click.

A meta description is a short snippet of text — roughly 150–160 characters — that summarises a page. Search engines often display it beneath the page title in the results, so it functions as the ad copy for your organic listing: the pitch someone reads when deciding whether to click your result or a competitor’s.

It doesn’t directly move rankings, which leads people to ignore it — a mistake, because two pages ranking side by side can get very different click-through rates based on this line alone. A good one is specific and benefit-led, matches what the page actually delivers, and reads like a promise a person would want to keep. Left blank, Google writes its own from the page, usually less persuasively than you would.

Writing them well is a small copywriting job that sits within on-page SEO.

Quick recall

What is a meta description? A short page summary search engines often show under the title in results.

Does it affect ranking? Not directly — but it strongly affects whether people click your result.

What makes a good one? Specific, benefit-led, honest to the page, and around 150–160 characters.