How to fix a missing or weak meta description
If your page has no meta description, Google invents one from whatever text it finds first — and it's rarely the pitch you'd choose. Here's how to take that snippet back.
A meta description is the short summary that appears under your page's title in search results. It lives in one line of HTML in your page's <head> and does one job: convince a searcher to click your result instead of the nine others on the page.
It is not a direct ranking factor. But the click-through rate it drives absolutely is — a result that earns more clicks than its position predicts tends to hold and improve that position over time.
Why it matters
When the tag is missing, Google generates a snippet by grabbing sentences from your page. Sometimes that's fine; often it's a navigation label, a cookie notice, or a half-sentence that reads like an error. Writing your own 150–160 character description lets you lead with the benefit and a reason to click, on every page that matters.
How to tell if this is you
Abby's free scan flags this as “Meta Description” when the tag is absent, empty, or well outside the 150–160 character sweet spot. It's one of the most common fails we see.
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Scan my site freeThe fix
Add a <meta name="description" content="..."> tag in your <head>. Keep it between 150-160 characters. Summarize the page content and include a call to action.
Before
<head> <title>Blue Suede Shoes | Example Store</title> <!-- no meta description: Google will write the snippet for you --> </head>
After
<head>
<title>Blue Suede Shoes | Example Store</title>
<meta name="description"
content="Handmade blue suede shoes in sizes 6–13. Free returns, ships in 24h. Shop the collection.">
</head>
Fix it on your platform
WordPress
Use Yoast SEO or Rank Math. Edit the page/post and fill in the "Meta Description" field in the SEO plugin's meta box below the editor.
Shopify
Go to Online Store > Pages (or Products), click the item, scroll to "Search engine listing preview", click "Edit website SEO", and fill in the "Description" field.
Wix
In the Wix Editor, go to Page Settings > SEO (Google) > SEO Basics, and fill in the "Meta description" field.
Squarespace
Go to Pages > click gear icon on the page > SEO tab. Fill in the "SEO Description" field.
WooCommerce
Use Yoast WooCommerce SEO. Edit the product and fill in the "Meta description" in the Yoast meta box.
Next.js
In the App Router, export metadata with a description: export const metadata = { description: "Your description" }. In Pages Router, add <meta name="description"> inside <Head>.
Magento
Edit the page under Content > Pages, expand "Search Engine Optimization", and fill in the "Meta Description" field.
BigCommerce
Edit the page and fill in the "Meta Description" field under the SEO tab.
Canva
Go to your Canva website settings and look for the description option. Canva has limited SEO meta tag support.
When this doesn’t apply
Strongly recommended for marketing pages and articles to control the SERP snippet. Link aggregators, dashboards, and search-results pages may legitimately omit it — Google generates a snippet from page content when the meta is absent.
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Get my fix planFAQ
What is the ideal meta description length?
Aim for 150–160 characters. Google truncates longer descriptions with an ellipsis, and very short ones waste the space. Front-load the important words in case it gets cut on mobile.
Does a meta description affect rankings?
Not directly. But it heavily influences click-through rate, and pages that earn more clicks than expected for their position tend to rise. So it's an indirect ranking lever, not a neutral one.
Why does Google show a different description than the one I wrote?
Google rewrites descriptions when it thinks a snippet from the page better matches the query. A well-written, on-topic description is overridden far less often than a vague or keyword-stuffed one.