Definition

A meta description is the contents of `<meta name="description">` in a page's HTML head — a short summary of the page that search engines may display as the snippet under the title in search results.

Google does not use meta descriptions as a direct ranking signal, but they influence click-through rate by acting as marketing copy in the search result. Google may also rewrite the snippet using on-page text if the meta description does not match the user's query. Recommended length is roughly 150–160 characters; longer descriptions are typically truncated. Each page should have a unique description that accurately describes what the page is about.

Examples

• A product page

  <meta name="description" content="Lightweight running shoes with breathable mesh upper and 8mm drop, designed for daily training. Free returns, ships in 24 hours." />

• Google rewriting the snippet

  A blog post sets a generic meta description. For a long-tail query, Google ignores the meta description and pulls a more relevant sentence directly from the article body to display as the snippet.

Sources

• Google Search Central — Control your snippets in search results

Related terms

• Canonical Tag
  An HTML element that tells search engines which URL is the master copy when the same or similar content exists at multiple addresses.
• Schema Markup
  Structured data added to a page that describes its content to search engines in a machine-readable format.

Where QueryCatch uses this

• Meta Description Optimisation
• Meta Title Optimisation