Meta Description

Meta descriptions do not directly influence ranking, but they influence click-through rate by shaping the snippet the searcher sees. Google frequently rewrites descriptions based on the query, so the tag is a starting point, not a guarantee.

Best practices

• Keep under about 155 characters to avoid truncation.
• Include the primary keyword — Google bolds matches in the snippet.
• Write for a click, not a summary — surface the benefit.
• Do not duplicate descriptions across pages.

Example

A pricing page rewrites its description from a boilerplate "Learn more about our pricing" to "See every plan, feature, and quota — no credit card required to start" and lifts CTR from 3.4% to 6.2%.

How SEM Optimiser reports it

The audit flags missing, duplicated, or excessively long descriptions, and highlights pages where Google is rewriting the snippet.