A meta description is the short snippet of text that appears under your page title in Google’s search results. It will not boost your rankings directly, but a well written one can be the difference between someone clicking on your listing or scrolling past it to a competitor. Aim for around 120 to 155 characters, lead with the benefit to the reader, and include the keyword they searched for so it stands out in bold.
Why meta descriptions still matter
Google has said for years that meta descriptions are not a ranking factor. That is true in a literal sense. But click through rate is one of the clearest signals you can influence directly, and a page that gets clicked more often tends to perform better over time. Think of your meta description as a shop window. Nobody walks in because the window is technically compliant. They walk in because something in it caught their eye.
If you run paid campaigns as well, you will already understand this instinct from writing ad copy for a PPC marketing agency style account. The same discipline of writing to a strict character limit while still making a promise applies here, just without the bidding.
What makes a good one
A strong meta description does three things. It states clearly what the page offers, it speaks to the searcher’s intent, and it gives them a reason to choose your result over the nine others on the page. Avoid vague filler like “welcome to our website” or “learn more about our services.” Nobody has ever clicked a result because it told them nothing.
We have tested this on client sites for years as part of our wider SEO services, and the pattern holds up. Descriptions that mention a specific number, a location, or a clear outcome consistently pull a better click through rate than generic ones. If you are writing for a London business, saying so, and pairing it with our Google Ads agency in London work as an example, gives the searcher something concrete to latch onto rather than a vague claim.
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Length and formatting
Google does not enforce a strict character count, it works off pixel width, which is why two descriptions of the same length can be truncated differently depending on which letters they use. As a rule of thumb, stay under 155 characters and you are usually safe on desktop. On mobile you have a little more room. Do not stuff keywords in unnaturally. Google increasingly rewrites descriptions it judges to be low quality or irrelevant to the query, so write for the person reading it, not the algorithm.
This is the same logic we apply when writing landing pages for a social media advertising agency client or drafting copy for LinkedIn advertising campaigns. Clear, specific, and honest copy beats clever copy almost every time.
A quick process that works
- Write the page content first, then the meta description last, so it reflects what is actually on the page
- Include the primary keyword once, near the start if it reads naturally
- Add a specific detail, a price, a number, a location, or a guarantee
- Read it aloud. If it sounds like something a person would say, keep it
- Check the pixel width using a SERP preview tool such as Google Search Central{:target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”} before publishing
FAQs
Does a meta description affect my Google ranking?
Not directly. Google has confirmed it is not a ranking signal. It affects click through rate, which can indirectly support performance over time.
What is the ideal meta description length?
Around 120 to 155 characters is a safe target, though Google measures by pixel width rather than character count.
Why does Google sometimes rewrite my meta description?
It happens when Google judges that a different snippet from the page better answers the specific search query. Writing accurate, relevant descriptions reduces how often this happens.
Getting this right across dozens or hundreds of pages takes time most in-house teams do not have. If you would rather have a specialist team handle it alongside your wider search strategy, get in touch with flow20 and we will take a look at what your current listings are doing for you.
