What is a meta description?

An HTML tag giving a short summary of a page, often shown as the snippet under the title in search results.

How long should a meta description be?

Around 150–160 characters so it isn't truncated in the results.

Does the meta description affect ranking?

Not directly — it influences click-through rate, not position; engines may also rewrite or ignore it.

Growth Marketing Glossary

Meta Description

/ˈmitə dɪˈskɹɪpʃən/noun

Your page's pitch in the search results — it rarely changes ranking, but it decides whether anyone clicks.

Schematic — the description line in a result

Term: Meta Description
Part of speech: Noun
Field: On-page SEO
Best length: ~150–160 chars

Forms & parts of speech

meta description · noun

The summary tag for a page.

"A sharper meta description lifted the click-through rate without any ranking change."

Definition in plain terms

A meta description is an HTML tag that offers search engines a short summary of a page. Engines often (not always) show it as the grey snippet under the blue title in results. It lives in the page's head and is written for humans scanning the results, not for the page's visible content.

The mechanics

Aim for roughly 150–160 characters so it isn't truncated, lead with the value, and include the term the searcher used (engines bold matching words). Google may rewrite or ignore it and pull its own snippet from the page, so treat it as a strong suggestion. It is not a direct ranking factor — its job is to win the click.

When it matters

The meta description matters most on pages that already rank and need a higher click-through rate. A page that ranks third can out-earn one ranking first if its snippet is more compelling. Leaving it blank lets the engine guess, which is sometimes fine and sometimes awful.

Worked example. A recipe page ranks well but few click. Its description was auto-pulled boilerplate. Rewritten to "30-minute weeknight chili — six pantry staples, one pot, freezer-friendly," it matches what searchers want and the bolded keywords catch the eye. Ranking doesn't move, but clicks jump because the snippet finally sells the page.

Failure modes to watch. Stuffing keywords instead of writing for a human; exceeding ~160 characters so it truncates mid-thought; duplicating the same description across many pages; and treating it as a ranking lever rather than a click lever.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms

meta descriptiondescription tag

Antonyms

title tagpage body

Usage trends

Search interest for this term over the last five years:

View interest-over-time on Google Trends →

Common questions

What is a meta description?: An HTML tag giving a short summary of a page, often shown as the snippet under the title in search results.
How long should a meta description be?: Around 150–160 characters so it isn't truncated in the results.
Does the meta description affect ranking?: Not directly — it influences click-through rate, not position; engines may also rewrite or ignore it.

Related tools & calculators

toolFunnel drop-off analyzer

Resources & people to follow

referenceGoogle Search Central — snippets documentation
bookThe Art of SEO — Enge, Spencer, Stricchiola
thought leaderGoogle Search Central

Curated, non-competitor resources verified per term.

Related training

moduleGrowth marketing foundations

Disciplines

Areas of marketing where meta description is a core concern:

Search engine optimizationContent marketing

Sources

trendsGoogle Trends — "meta description"