Meta description

Definition

A meta description is a short summary of a page, declared in the document head:

<meta
  name="description"
  content="Compare the three HTML list types and when each one fits."
/>

Search engines may use it as the snippet under a result. Google may instead generate a snippet from page content when that better matches the query.

It is not a ranking factor

Google states that it does not use the description meta tag in ranking. A useful description still matters because Google may show it as the result snippet. An accurate summary helps a searcher decide whether the page answers the query; it does not promise a ranking or click-through improvement.

Why engines rewrite them

Google chooses snippets to match the query, not only the page in general. When a description does not address the search, Google may pull a relevant body passage instead. Rewriting is normal and not a defect. If a description is rarely selected, compare it with the queries and body passages Google does select before deciding whether the description is too generic or simply less relevant to those queries.

Writing one

Describe what the page actually delivers, in the words a searcher would use, and make it specific enough that it could not be pasted onto another page. Google does not publish a character limit; it truncates snippets as needed for the device width. Put the distinguishing information early instead of writing to a supposed universal count.

The failure mode is not length. It is sameness: one description reused across a section, or a sentence so general it describes the whole site.

Common failures

• The same description repeated across many pages, usually a template default.
• No description at all, leaving the engine to improvise from body text.
• Keyword lists rather than sentences, which read badly and persuade nobody.
• A description that promises something the page does not contain, which wins the click and loses the visit.
• Marketing copy where a plain summary would serve the reader better.

Review question

Read the description beside the page's title as they would appear in a result list. Does the pair tell someone whether this page answers their question, and could that description honestly belong to any other page on the site? If it could, it is too generic to help someone choose the result.