Meta description
Definition
The meta description is the short text (150 to 160 characters) displayed under a page's title in search results. It does not influence rankings, but it often decides the click.Under every blue title in search results, two lines of text present the page: that is the meta description. It is set page by page, in the code, and stays invisible on the page itself.
Its role must be stated plainly: Google has confirmed it is not a ranking factor. Its job is elsewhere: between two results side by side, it is what makes people click, or not. A good description is a concrete promise: what the visitor will find, why it is useful, phrased in their own words.
The two classic mistakes: absence (search engines then improvise a snippet, rarely flattering) and duplication (the same description everywhere, which therefore describes nothing). Every important page deserves its own, unique one.
Worth knowing: search engines reserve the right to rewrite a description that seems off-topic. Well written and faithful to the content, it is displayed as is most of the time. It is the kind of detail a serious agency handles page by page, not in one automated pass.
Write every meta description as the answer to "why click here rather than elsewhere?": the concrete benefit first, under 160 characters, without repeating the title word for word.
Frequently asked questions
No, Google has confirmed it. Its terrain is the click: between two neighbouring results, a concrete, honest description makes the difference. It is persuasion copy, not a technical signal.
Aim for 150 to 160 characters: beyond that, engines cut it off. The concrete benefit first, phrased in the client's words, and a different description for every page.