How to write a meta description that earns the click

Here is how to write a meta description: describe that one page in a sentence or two that tells a searcher exactly what they will get if they click. It is the short text Google may show under your title in search results, and its job is to win the click once you rank.

<meta name="description" content="Free LTV calculator. Work out customer lifetime value from revenue, gross margin, and churn, plus your LTV to CAC ratio and payback period.">

What Google does with your meta description

Google says it builds snippets mainly from the page content, and uses the meta description when it describes the page better than the content does. That has two consequences:

• Your description is a suggestion, not a guarantee. For some searches Google will show a sentence from your page instead.
• The page itself has to be clear. If the first paragraph answers the query plainly, the snippet is good whichever text Google picks.

How long should a meta description be?

There is no official limit. Google’s documentation says a description can be any length, but the snippet is truncated as needed, typically to fit the device width. Truncation depends on screen width rather than a character count, so a fixed number is only a guide.

In practice, 120 to 155 characters shows in full on most screens. Yoast SEO, for example, flags descriptions under 120 or over 156 characters. Put the key information in the first 100 characters, so a cut never removes it.

How to write a meta description for a webpage

1. 1Name what the page is. A pricing page, a free tool, a product, a guide. Use the words a searcher would use.
2. 2Say what they can do or learn there. “Compare plans”, “check your sitemap”, “see real launch numbers”.
3. 3Add one specific detail. A price, a number, a format, or who it is for. Specifics beat adjectives.
4. 4Make it unique. Google warns that identical descriptions across pages are not helpful. Every page that matters gets its own.

How to write a meta description for an article

For a blog post or guide, the description should promise the answer, not tease it. Searchers are comparing several results at once, and the one that clearly covers their question wins.

• Restate the question in plain words. Someone searching “how long does google take to index” wants to see that phrase or something close.
• List what the article covers. “Realistic timelines, what speeds it up, and what the statuses mean” sets clear expectations.
• Avoid clickbait. A description that oversells raises clicks once and bounces forever.

How to write a meta description in WordPress

WordPress has no meta description field by default, so most sites use an SEO plugin. In Yoast SEO, open a post or page, choose Search appearance in the Yoast sidebar, and type into the Meta description field. A preview shows how the snippet may look, and a colour bar warns when it is too short or too long. Rank Math and SEOPress offer a similar field.

On sites with hundreds of pages, Google encourages generated descriptions built from page-specific data, such as a product’s name, price, and category. If you cannot write them all, Google’s advice is to prioritise: write descriptions for the homepage and your most popular pages first.

Meta description mistakes that cost clicks

• The same description everywhere. It makes every result from your site look identical.
• A list of keywords. Google says keyword strings are less likely to be shown as a snippet.
• Describing the company instead of the page. The searcher wants to know what is on this page.
• Forgetting the share card. Social platforms often use the description too. Check it with the OG image checker.

Once your pages are indexed, Search Console shows which ones get impressions but few clicks. Those are the descriptions to rewrite first. Our SEO guide for startups covers setting it up.

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