The meta description is the short text snippet that appears below your title in search results. While Google says it's not a direct ranking factor, a well-written description can double your click-through rate — and that does affect rankings.

The ideal meta description

120-160 characters — Google displays up to ~160 characters on desktop, ~120 on mobile
Active voice — "Get your free audit" beats "A free audit can be obtained"
Include your keyword — Google bolds matching search terms in the description
Call to action — Tell the reader what to do: "Learn how", "Try free", "See examples"

Examples of good meta descriptions

Good: "Paste any URL and get a score across 200+ SEO, performance, security, mobile, and accessibility checks — free, no signup."

Bad: "Welcome to our website. We offer many services and solutions for your business needs."

How to add a meta description

In HTML:

<head>
  <meta name="description" content="Your description here." />
</head>

In Next.js:

export const metadata = {
  description: "Your description here.",
};

What happens without a meta description?

If you don't set one, Google auto-generates a snippet from your page content. This often looks messy — it might pull a random paragraph or navigation text. Setting your own description gives you control over how your page appears in search.

Check your meta descriptions

PageGrader checks whether your meta description exists, its length, and whether it's unique. Run a free scan to see your results.