Meta description
The meta description is the short summary that often appears under your page’s headline in Google search results.
Why it matters
Section titled “Why it matters”It doesn’t change your ranking, but it’s your pitch to the searcher. A clear, specific description gets more people to click.
How to write a good one
Section titled “How to write a good one”- Write a unique one for every important page.
- Summarise what the page offers in one or two sentences.
- Include useful details: where you are, what you do, a price or a reason to choose you.
- Aim for around 150 to 160 characters. Google cuts longer ones off to fit the screen.
- Write for people, not keywords. Don’t list keywords.
Google won’t always use your description. If it thinks text from the page answers the search better, it shows that instead.
Where to change it
Section titled “Where to change it”| Platform | Where |
|---|---|
| WordPress (Yoast SEO) | Edit the page, scroll to the Yoast SEO box and change Meta description. |
| WordPress (Rank Math) | Edit the page, open Rank Math, select Edit Snippet and change Description. |
| Shopify | Edit the page, product or collection, scroll to Search engine listing, select Edit and change Meta description. |
| Wix | In Pages & Menu, open the page’s More Actions menu, select SEO basics and change Meta description. |
| Squarespace | Open the page’s Page settings, go to the SEO tab and change SEO description. |
| Custom-built site | Ask your developer to set <meta name="description" content="..."> in the page’s <head>. |
Check it worked
Section titled “Check it worked”Search Google for the page. Changes show once Google recrawls it, which can take a few days to a few weeks. To speed it up, request indexing.
Google’s guide
Section titled “Google’s guide”How to write meta descriptions (Google Search Central)