How to write a meta description that gets clicks
SEO1 min readFixes 2 checks meta-description-present, meta-description-length
The description is the two-line preview under your result. 70–160 characters that say what the page offers and end with a reason to click.
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What a passing site looks like
- Meta description is presentwarning · −2 ptseffort S
- Meta description length: passeswarning · −1 ptseffort S
1. Meta description is missing
Why it matters. The description is the two-line preview under your result. Without it, Google picks a random sentence from the page.
How to fix it.
- Add <meta name="description" content="…"> with 70–160 characters that say what the page offers.
- In WordPress, most SEO plugins add a field for it on every page.
In a report the technical detail reads: Detected 0 <meta name="description"> elements.
2. Meta description length
Why it matters. Descriptions past about 160 characters are cut off mid-sentence in search results; under 70 they waste the space.
How to fix it.
- Shorten the description to 70–160 characters and end it with a reason to click.