A meta description is the short summary you write for a page, which search engines often show under its title in the results. It does not move your page up the list on its own. What it can do is persuade the right reader to click, and tell the wrong reader to keep scrolling.
This post belongs to the Larkspur SEO writing series. It covers what a good snippet does, how to write one in ten minutes, and the mistakes we see most.
What a meta description does #
Think of the results page as a shelf. Your title is the spine of the book. The meta description is the line on the back cover. A reader glances at both and decides in a second or two whether your page holds what they want.
A good description does three jobs:
- It confirms the match. The reader sees their own question, or close to it.
- It makes a promise. It says what the page gives them: a method, an answer, a list, a tool.
- It sets the tone. Plain and direct reads as trustworthy. Breathless reads as an advert.
Search engines may rewrite your description when they think another passage on the page fits the search better. That is not a reason to skip it. A clear meta description is the version they use most often, because it already fits.
Write a meta description in five moves #
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Name the reader's question
Write the question your page answers in the searcher's own words. This is your raw material, not the final text.
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State the payoff
Say what the reader gets from the page. A method, a checklist, an answer with a source. Use a verb: learn, compare, fix, plan.
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Add one specific detail
Specific beats general. "Three questions to ask before you hire a writer" beats "Everything about hiring writers".
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Cut to fit
Aim for about one hundred and fifty characters, so the full sentence shows on most screens. Cut filler words first, then adjectives.
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Read it beside the results
Paste it next to the snippets that already rank. If yours does not stand out as more useful or more precise, write it again.
Weak and strong snippets side by side #
Here is one page, described two ways. The page is a guide to planning a content calendar for a team of two.
Weak: "Content calendars are important for every business. In this article we discuss content calendars and why they matter."
Strong: "Plan a quarter of posts in one afternoon. A simple content calendar for a team of two, with a free sheet to copy."
The strong version names the reader, the payoff and a detail. The weak one repeats the topic and promises nothing.
Why does the weak version fail?
It talks about the writer's article, not the reader's problem. It says "important" without saying why. It uses the main phrase twice and still gives no reason to click. Any page on the subject could carry it, so it tells the reader nothing about this page.
Should every page have one #
Most should. Your posts, your main pages and your category pages all benefit from a written description, because you know better than any algorithm what each page promises.
Pros
- You decide the first impression instead of leaving it to a machine
- It forces you to say in one sentence what the page is for
- Search engines use it often when it fits the search well
Cons
- It does not raise your position on its own
- Search engines may still replace it with a passage from the page
- A careless one can put off the readers you want
The balance is clear. The work takes ten minutes, and the upside is a better click from the right reader.
Write it with the title #
The title and the description are read together. Write them as a pair. The title names the subject and earns attention. The description adds the detail the title had no room for. Our post on titles that win clicks without tricks covers the first half of that pair.
Avoid repeating the title word for word in the description. Use the space for something new: who the page is for, what it includes, or how long it takes.
Match the snippet to the searcher #
A description works only when it speaks to the goal behind the search. For a "how to" search, promise a method. For a "best" search, promise a fair comparison. For a "what is" search, promise a plain answer. If you are unsure what the searcher wants, read our explainer on what searchers really want before you write.
Mistakes we fix most often #
When we audit a client's blog, the same problems turn up again and again:
- The same meta description on every page. Often a site-wide default. Each page needs its own.
- A copy of the first paragraph. The first paragraph is written for someone already on the page. The snippet is for someone deciding whether to come.
- Stuffed phrases. Repeating the main phrase three times reads as spam and helps nothing.
- No description at all. The search engine then picks a passage for you, sometimes a cookie notice or a menu.
Google's own guidance on controlling snippets in search results confirms the basics: describe the page accurately, write a unique one for each page, and keep it useful to the reader.
Check your meta description with a quick test #
Before you publish, read the title and description aloud to someone who has not seen the page. Ask them what they expect to find. If their answer matches your page, the snippet works. If it does not, the snippet promises the wrong thing, and the fix takes two minutes now instead of months of lost clicks later.
