Definition
A meta description is an HTML summary of a page that search engines may show under the title in results, influencing clicks rather than rankings.
Meta description explained
The meta description sits in a page's head. Google doesn't use it as a ranking signal, but it often shows it, or part of it, as the snippet under the result, especially when it describes the page better than any passage on the page itself. For some queries Google writes its own snippet from the page content instead.
Because it acts like ad copy in the organic results, a good meta description summarizes what the reader gets, uses the language of the query, and gives a reason to choose your result. Keep it concise enough to display fully, which in practice means roughly 150 to 160 characters, and write a unique one for every important page.
Descriptions also get reused elsewhere. Social platforms and messaging apps often show them in link previews when no specific social description is set.
Example
Your pricing page's description repeats the navigation text. You replace it with “Compare plans for teams of 5 to 500, see what's included in each, and start a 14-day free trial with no card required.” It now tells searchers exactly what they will find.
Why it matters
It doesn't move rankings, but a compelling description can lift click-through rate, which means more visitors from the rankings you already have.
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Related terms
- Title tagA title tag is the HTML element naming a page, which search engines often use as the clickable headline in results and browsers show in the tab.
- CTR (Click-Through Rate)CTR (click-through rate) is the share of people who click a result or ad after seeing it: clicks divided by impressions.
- On-page SEOOn-page SEO is optimizing a page's content and HTML, such as titles, headings, copy, images and internal links, so it ranks for the right searches.
- SERP (Search Engine Results Page)A SERP (search engine results page) is the page shown after a search, combining organic results, ads and features such as AI Overviews and maps.