Meta description

Does it affect ranking?

Google says the meta description is not a ranking factor. It affects whether people click, and clicks are the point. A clear description that matches what the searcher wants can lift traffic without any change in position.

Writing a good one

Aim for roughly 140 to 160 characters, so it is not cut off on desktop. Say what the page is and why it is worth the click. Use the words a searcher would use, because Google bolds matching terms. Make each page's description unique: a site where every page shares one description gives Google nothing to work with, and it will write its own.

Avoid markdown, raw HTML and leftovers such as "Overview." at the start. Write it as a sentence a person would say.

When Google rewrites it

Google often replaces the description with text from the page that fits the query better. That is normal. A description that already answers the most common query for the page is more likely to be kept.

Descriptions for many pages at once

Sites with thousands of pages, such as directories and stores, cannot write every description by hand. Generate them from the page's data instead: what the page lists, how many items, and two or three real names. "Browse 12 AI writing tools launched this year, including A, B and C" is specific and unique per page, which is exactly what a hand written template full of placeholders fails to be.

Example

<meta name="description" content="Free robots.txt tester: paste a URL, see every rule, and check whether Googlebot or GPTBot may crawl a path. No sign-up.">

Questions people ask

How long should a meta description be?

About 140 to 160 characters fits most desktop results. Mobile may show a little less.