A meta description is the HTML attribute that summarises the content of a page in roughly 150-160 characters. Google often (but not always) displays it as the snippet under your {title-tag} on the {serp}. Meta descriptions don't directly affect rankings, but they're one of the highest-leverage controls over organic {ctr}.
Meta descriptions matter because they're the second piece of text a user sees before deciding whether to click. Backlinko's analysis of 5 million Google results found that pages with a meta description that includes the query keyword saw a 5.8% higher CTR than pages where Google generated the description on its own. On a page with 100,000 monthly impressions, that 5.8% lift is the difference between 4,000 and 6,000 monthly clicks.
When a user searches, Google decides whether to show your meta description as-is or generate one from page content based on the query context. About 62-70% of meta descriptions get rewritten by Google, but a well-crafted description still tells the algorithm what to lead with and influences how the page is summarised when Google does rewrite.
A strong meta description includes the target query (so Google bolds it on the SERP), confirms the user is in the right place, and previews the page's unique value. Bad meta descriptions (truncated, missing, duplicated, or generic) drag down CTR even from top-3 ranking positions.
Not directly. Google has stated meta descriptions are not a ranking signal. However, they strongly influence CTR, and CTR feeds back into Google's understanding of search intent match. Better-written descriptions produce more clicks, which signals that the page is the right answer.
Aim for 150-160 characters. Mobile SERPs truncate at around 120 characters, so the most important information should sit in the first 120. Descriptions longer than 160 characters get cut with an ellipsis on desktop.
Google rewrites descriptions when the original doesn't match the query well, is too short, or seems generic. The fix is to write descriptions that explicitly include the target query and a clear, query-matched preview of the page content.
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