Meta description length

What this check does

Counts the characters of your <meta name="description" content="..."> tag. The “good” range is roughly 110–160 characters.

Why it matters

The meta description doesn’t directly affect rankings — Google has confirmed this repeatedly. What it affects is click-through rate from search results, which is itself a ranking signal.

When the description is well-written and fits in the snippet window, it acts as a 160-character ad for your page. When it’s missing, too short, or auto-generated, Google extracts a snippet from the page body. Often the auto-extracted snippet is fine; often it’s the middle of a sentence with no context.

How to fix it

Write a one-to-two-sentence summary that:

1. Includes the primary keyword (Google bolds matching words in the snippet — visual draw).
2. Promises a specific benefit or answer the page delivers.
3. Ends with a clear action or call-out.

Examples:

Bad (50 chars)	Good (155 chars)
We sell SEO tools.	Run a free SEO and AI-readability audit on any URL. Get a white-label PDF report in under 60 seconds — no signup required. 91 checks, all explained.

Add it in HTML:

<meta name="description" content="Run a free SEO audit on any URL. Get a white-label PDF report in under 60 seconds. 91 checks, all explained." />

Framework helpers:

• Astro: in your Layout — <meta name="description" content={description} />
• Next.js: export const metadata = { description: '...' }
• WordPress: Yoast, Rank Math, and SEOPress all expose a per-post description field.

Frequently asked questions

Will Google use my meta description as-is?

Roughly 60% of the time. The rest, Google rewrites the snippet based on the query — pulling a passage from the body that matches the searcher’s intent better than your generic description. Your description is the default; Google may override.

What if I don’t write one?

Google auto-extracts from the body. This usually works fine, but you lose control. For homepage, category pages, and high-traffic posts, write the description; for tail content, auto-extraction is acceptable.

Does Open Graph description count?

og:description is for Facebook, LinkedIn, X, etc. Google uses meta name="description". Set both — they can have the same content.