A meta description is the short text that appears below your page title in Google search results. It is the two-line summary that tells a searcher what your page is about before they click on it.
You write it yourself. Google does not generate it — although Google will sometimes rewrite it if it decides your version is not relevant enough to the search query.
Does it affect your rankings?
Not directly. Meta descriptions are not a ranking factor. Google does not use them to decide where your page appears in results.
But they do affect whether people click on your result. A well-written meta description that clearly explains what the visitor will find — and speaks to what they are looking for — gets more clicks. More clicks signal relevance to Google over time, which indirectly supports your rankings.
What makes a good meta description
- Keep it under 160 characters — anything longer gets cut off in search results
- Be specific about what the page offers — vague descriptions do not earn clicks
- Write for the searcher, not for the algorithm — what would make someone choose your result over the one above or below it?
- Include your main keyword naturally — Google bolds matching words in the description, which draws the eye
How to set it in WordPress
In WordPress, meta descriptions are typically set through an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO. Each page and post has a field where you write the description that appears in search results. Read more in our Yoast SEO setup guide and explore the SEO & Marketing knowledge base.