Meta Description
A meta description is an HTML tag that provides a brief summary of a web page's content. While not a direct ranking factor, it appears as the snippet under the page title in search results and significantly influences CTR.
Reviewed by Alexander Yarovenko · Updated: 2026-09-22
What is a Meta Description?
A meta description is an HTML tag (<meta name="description">) placed in the <head> of a web page that provides a short summary of the page's content. It appears in search results as the descriptive text beneath the page title and URL — influencing whether users click on your result.
Meta Description HTML
<head>
<meta name="description" content="Your 150–160 character summary here. Include the target keyword and a compelling reason to click.">
</head>Meta Descriptions and SEO
Meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor — Google has confirmed this. However, they indirectly affect SEO by:
- Influencing CTR (higher CTR = more organic traffic without ranking changes)
- Google may bold keywords from the query in your meta description, increasing visual prominence
Note: Google rewrites meta descriptions approximately 70% of the time, particularly for long queries or when it judges the original description inadequate.
Best Practices
- Length: 150–160 characters for desktop; 120 characters for mobile
- Include the primary keyword — it may be bolded in the SERP
- Write as ad copy — what benefit does the user get? Why should they click?
- Be specific — vague descriptions like "We offer the best services" don't drive clicks
- Include a CTA — "Learn how...", "Get your free...", "Compare..."
- Unique per page — duplicate meta descriptions across pages waste the opportunity
- Match the page's content — misleading descriptions increase bounce rate
Editorial decision
Write a truthful page-specific summary; Google may select different page text for a query.
Validation
Check uniqueness, rendered relevance, truncation and query-level snippets on representative live pages and record the result.