How to write great meta descriptions

A meta description should convince someone to click your link in search results. This means treating it as marketing copy first and metadata second. You want to write directly to the search intent someone is expressing. If someone searches "best CMS for small business," they need a description that acknowledges their situation and hints at what value they'll find on the page. Something like "Compare WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace for small business owners. See pricing, ease of use, and which platform works best for different business types." immediately shows relevance. The description should match what's actually on the page—if you promise comparison details, deliver them prominently. This alignment matters for click-through rate and user experience signals.

Keep descriptions between 150-160 characters on desktop (around 120 characters for mobile, though this varies by device). Google will truncate longer descriptions, cutting off your call-to-action. Rather than stuffing keywords, focus on answering the implied question behind the search and making someone want to learn more. Use active language and create specificity when possible. "Get faster load times" performs better than "website optimization tips." Include a benefit or outcome when you can, especially for competitive keywords where you're competing with dozens of similar results. You might also include differentiators—if your page covers something competitors don't, mention it subtly. Numbers and specific claims tend to perform well ("5 mistakes" instead of "common mistakes").

For your clients and their websites, create unique descriptions for every page. Your homepage description should reflect your overall value proposition. Category or pillar pages should emphasize the range of content or solutions available. Product pages benefit from descriptions that include key features, pricing range if relevant, or availability. For blog content, lead with the main insight or answer the post provides, rather than just restating the headline. Test your descriptions by searching for your target keywords yourself and seeing which results make you want to click. That friction-test is valuable for your own work too. Track which pages have low click-through rates despite decent rankings—those often need description rewrites. When you update descriptions, give Google a few weeks to re-crawl and re-rank before assuming something didn't work.