Description for Google

What we check

We read the meta description of the home page, that is the <meta name="description"> element in the head of the page. If it is missing, there is a warning. If it is shorter than 70 or longer than 170 characters, there is a note. Ideal is 120 to 160 characters.

Why it matters

The meta description is the grey text under the blue heading in the Google search result. It is the website's small shop window: in two lines someone decides whether to click on this result or on the next one.

If the description is missing, Google takes some text excerpt from the page, often the cookie notice, a menu line or half a sentence. If it is too long, Google cuts it off, and the most important statement may be missing. If it is very short, space goes unused that competitors make use of.

The description also appears as a summary of the page when sharing on social media and in some AI assistants.

How to fix it

A good description answers three questions in 120 to 160 characters:

1. What is on offer? The offer in the words of the people searching for it.
2. For whom or where? Target group or purpose, and town or region for an offer tied to a place.
3. Why this offer? A concrete advantage, such as "next-day delivery" or "independent since 1985".

Example: "Hiking boots and outdoor clothing for day hikes and treks: over 40 brands, next-day delivery and free returns within 30 days."

Write for people, not for search engines. Nobody clicks on a list of search terms.

WordPress

With Yoast SEO or Rank Math you will find a field "Meta description" in the page editor. Without an SEO plugin WordPress offers no field of its own for this.

Wix, Jimdo, Squarespace

In the SEO settings of each page there is a field for the description. In Wix you find it under "SEO Basics".

How to check it yourself

Right-click the home page and choose "View page source". Use Ctrl+F (Mac: Cmd+F) to search for name="description". The text in the content attribute is the description.

Frequently asked questions

Does the meta description improve my ranking?

Not directly. Google does not rate the page by its description. A good description does bring more clicks to the result, though, and that is what counts in the end.

Google still shows a different text. Why?

Google picks the excerpt to match the search query. If the description does not fit the search, Google takes a text excerpt from the page. The more clearly the description names the offer, the more often it is used.