Meta description length: how long should it be?

A meta description is the short summary under your title in search results. The practical length is about 120 to 155 characters, which fits within roughly 920 pixels on desktop. On mobile, Google shows a little less. Anything longer is usually cut off with "…".

What a meta description does

The meta description sits in the page's head:

<meta name="description" content="Check any meta description in seconds. See its length in pixels and characters, and how Google will show it.">

It is not a ranking factor. Google has said so for years. But it matters because it shapes the click: a clear description that matches the search makes people choose your result over the one above it. More clicks from the same ranking is free traffic.

Characters vs pixels

Like titles, descriptions are limited by width, not a character count. Google's snippet area holds about two lines on desktop. Wide letters and capitals use the space faster than narrow ones. The checker below measures your description in pixels so you can see where it will be cut.

Why Google rewrites meta descriptions

Google picks the snippet it thinks best answers each search. Studies of large keyword sets have found Google replaces the meta description for a majority of queries, often with a sentence from the page itself. That sounds like a reason not to bother, but it isn't:

• For the main search a page targets, a good description is still used much more often.
• When there is no description at all, Google always has to guess.
• A description written for the page's main intent keeps the message under your control for your most valuable searches.

Google is most likely to rewrite when the description is missing, too short, a list of keywords, the same on many pages, or unrelated to the search.

How to write a good meta description

1. Answer the search. Say what the page gives the visitor in the first sentence.
2. Include the main phrase naturally. Google bolds matching words in the snippet.
3. Add a reason to choose you: free, no sign-up, delivery time, a key spec.
4. Be specific and honest. Only claim what the page delivers.
5. Make every description unique. Templates that repeat the same sentence across pages get ignored.

See how to write a meta description for examples.

Do I need a description on every page?

Write one for every page you want to rank: your homepage, category and product pages, service pages and articles. For huge sets of near-identical pages (filters, archives), letting Google choose a snippet is fine.

Checking descriptions at scale

Missing and duplicate descriptions are common on template-based sites. To check many pages at once, paste titles and descriptions into the bulk meta length checker or scan your site with the duplicate title checker, which also finds duplicate descriptions.