Meta Description Length: How Long Should It Be?

What a meta description does

A meta description is a short summary of a page, written in the HTML of the page. Search engines can show it as the snippet under the title in search results. A good description tells the reader what the page offers and gives a reason to click.

It is written for people, not for search engines. Google has said that the meta description is not a ranking factor, which means a better description will not move the page up the results by itself. It can still raise the share of people who click, and that is reason enough to write it well.

The 160-character guide

There is no official limit. A search engine cuts the description when it no longer fits into the space available, and that space is measured in pixels. For desktop results, a length of about 150 to 160 characters usually fits in full, and that figure is the one you will find in most guides.

On mobile the space can be smaller. Some descriptions are shown with fewer characters on a phone, so the first 100 to 120 characters should carry the main message. Anything after that is a bonus for readers who see the full version.

Search engines may rewrite it

Google has documented that it may use the text of the page instead of the description you wrote when it believes the page text matches the query better. That means the same page can show different snippets for different searches. You cannot control this, but a clear description that matches the content of the page is more likely to be used.

A page without a description gets a snippet made from its own text, which is sometimes fine and sometimes awkward. For important pages, a handwritten description gives you the best chance of a clear message.

How to write a good description

Say what the page is about in plain words and what the reader will get. Include the main topic naturally, since search engines highlight matching words in the snippet. Start with the benefit or the answer, and end with a short invitation if it fits.

Write a different description for each page. Repeating the same text on many pages gives search engines and readers no way to tell the pages apart. If a site has hundreds of pages, a simple pattern that includes the page topic is better than one generic sentence.

Mistakes to avoid

Do not stuff the description with keywords. A list of terms is hard to read and does not help the click. Do not promise what the page does not deliver, because readers who feel misled leave at once. Do not use quotation marks inside the description without escaping them in the code, because they can cut the text off.

Avoid descriptions that are too short. A line of five or six words usually wastes the space. Aim for a full sentence or two, between roughly 120 and 160 characters, that makes the page sound useful.

An example, step by step

A draft description might read: “On this page you can find a lot of useful information about the topic of counting characters in many different kinds of text and also about how to do it correctly.” It is long, vague and starts with filler.

A better version is: “Learn how to count characters with and without spaces, what counts as a character, and how to check your text against a limit.” It has 126 characters, leads with the benefit and names the topic in the first words.

Using the counter

Choose the meta description limit in the counter and write your text in the box. The bar shows how close you are to 160. Check the count with spaces, because spaces use width in the snippet like any other character.

If you are over the limit, cut the end of the description rather than the start. The first words are what readers see on mobile, and the beginning should always be the most important part of the message.

Descriptions for different pages

A home page description can state what the site does and who it is for. An article description should state the question the article answers. A product page description should name the product and one reason to choose it. Each of these can be written in a sentence or two.

If a site has many similar pages, such as a list of tools, vary the description by the specific benefit of each page. Visitors who see two nearly identical snippets have no reason to prefer either.

Descriptions in other languages

The same rules apply in other languages, but the number of characters that fits differs. Japanese and Chinese characters are wide, and a description in those languages is cut at a lower number of characters than one in English. German and Dutch need more characters for the same idea.

Check each language version separately and keep a note of the length of each description. A small spreadsheet is enough for a site with a few languages.

A quick checklist

• Is the description about 120 to 160 characters?
• Does the first part carry the main message?
• Does it match what the page actually contains?
• Is it unique on the site?
• Is it free of keyword lists and empty promises?

Search engines change how they show snippets, so look at your important pages in the search results from time to time and adjust the description when needed.