Meta Description Example: What to Include

A meta description is the 150-160 character snippet that appears below a page title in search results. For example, if someone searches for "best running shoes," they'd see a blue headline, a green URL, and underneath that a gray line of text explaining what the page offers—that's your meta description. It's not a ranking factor, but it directly influences whether someone clicks your result or scrolls past to a competitor.

Your clients care about meta descriptions because they drive click-through rate (CTR), which affects how profitable their organic traffic becomes. A well-written description can increase CTR by 20-30% without changing rankings at all. For your agency, this means you're delivering immediate, measurable value—something you can show clients in analytics within weeks. When you're pitching SEO work, meta descriptions are a tangible win that builds confidence in your process before the longer ranking improvements kick in. They also position you as detail-oriented, which matters when competing against agencies that skip this step entirely.

The most effective meta descriptions follow a simple formula: state the main benefit or answer, include relevant keywords naturally, and add a reason to click. For a page targeting "email marketing software," rather than writing "This page is about email marketing software," you'd write something like "Compare top email marketing tools with features for small businesses. Free trials available—see which platform fits your needs." Notice how this version answers what the page offers, includes the target keyword, and gives a reason to click (free trials, comparison angle). Include a call-to-action word when relevant: "Learn," "Discover," "Compare," "Find out," or "See how." These trigger more clicks than passive descriptions.

What makes this practical for your workflows: First, audit your clients' existing descriptions. You'll often find outdated or auto-generated ones that don't match their actual page content or business goals. Second, prioritize high-traffic pages first—homepage, service pages, and your client's top-performing blog posts. Don't waste time perfecting descriptions for pages getting five monthly visits. Third, build descriptions directly into your content templates or website platform so clients understand how to write them going forward. If you're using WordPress, a tool like Yoast SEO makes this seamless and lets you preview exactly how each description appears in search results.

The common mistake agencies make is treating meta descriptions as optional or writing them too late. Include them in every initial site audit and every new page launch. Test variations on similar pages to see which CTR patterns emerge for your client's audience, then apply those winning formulas across their content. This compounds over time—a client with 50 well-optimized pages generating 25% higher CTR gains meaningful traffic without any ranking improvements.