What is a meta description?
SEO Definition and Examples
The meta description is a 150-160 character text in the HTML that appears under the page title in Google results and influences the click-through rate (CTR).
Full Definition: What is a meta description
The meta description is an HTML attribute (meta name="description") that provides a short summary of the page content. It appears in the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) under the link title. It is not a direct Google ranking factor, but it significantly influences the click-through rate (CTR): a well-written meta description, with a keyword and a clear CTA, can double the CTR compared to a generic or missing text, which indirectly improves ranking through usage signals.
Why Does Meta Description Matter for SEO?
A good meta description can increase CTR by 30-50%. More clicks on the same ranking → Google understands that users prefer your page → higher ranking. Ideal length: 150-160 characters. Google truncates at 160 and sometimes rewrites the meta description if it is not relevant to the query.
Source: Google Search Central — Meta DescriptionFrequently Asked Questions about Meta Description
Related Terms
On-Page SEO
BeginnerOn-page SEO covers all the optimizations made directly on your site's pages — titles, headings, content, meta descriptions and URL structure.
Organic CTR (Click-Through Rate)
IntermediateOrganic CTR is the percentage of users who click your Google result out of all who see it — a key indicator of how effective your titles and metas are.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
BeginnerThe SERP is the results page Google shows after a search, including organic results, paid ads, featured snippets, the Local Pack and other special formats.
Canonical Tag
IntermediateThe canonical tag (rel="canonical") tells Google the main version of a page when similar or duplicate URLs exist, preventing duplicate-content penalties.
Put Meta Description into practice
Explore how to apply this concept to your industry and city.
