How to write meta descriptions

By Matt Kerr·Published 10 October 2026

A meta description is the sentence under your link in search results. Google writes its own snippet from the page most of the time, and uses yours only when it describes the page better. So write one for every page, make each different, say what the page offers and why to click it, and put the point in the first line. Docket reports four things: no description, one that runs long, one that is very short, and one shared between pages.

What Google says

I read Google's page on this on 10 October 2026: How to write meta descriptions. It says snippets are created mainly from the page's own content, and that Google sometimes uses the description if it gives a more accurate picture of the page than the content does. It says there is no limit on how long a description can be, and that the snippet is cut to fit the device width. It says identical or similar descriptions on every page are not helpful, and to use a site-level description on the home page and a page-level one everywhere else. If you cannot write them all, it says to do the important pages first.

Two things follow. A description is not a ranking lever, so it is not worth keyword lists. And it is your one chance to write the pitch yourself, so it is worth a plain sentence per page.

What Docket reports

• No description. The page has the tag missing or empty.
• Too long. More than 165 wide. Widths are counted in half-width units, so a full-width character counts twice and the same bound fits every language.
• Very short. Fewer than 70 wide.
• Shared. The same text, ignoring case, on two or more pages that carry real content.

The two bounds are Docket's own and are loose on purpose. Google sets no length, so a description of 170 is not an error. It is a warning that the end may be cut, and that anything you wanted a reader to see should come first.

How to write one

1. Start with what the page offers. The thing, in plain words. “What a full typewriter service covers” beats “Services”.
2. Add the reason to choose it. A fixed price, a time, what is included, what is free. Something a reader can compare with the result above yours.
3. Put the point first. The end is the part that gets cut.
4. Write it for that page only. If you could paste it onto another page, rewrite it.
5. Skip the keyword lists. A sentence a person would say reads better and does not put the page at risk of looking stuffed.

On a site built from templates, a shop or a blog, write the description as a sentence with slots, not as one fixed line: the product's name, its price, the post's author and date. Google's own page suggests the same, for information that sits scattered through a page.

A real before and after

I wrote a small fixture site for this page: 7 pages of a typewriter repair workshop. I audited it with Docket on 10 October 2026, rewrote the descriptions, and audited it again. The pages are ours; nothing here is measured on anyone else's site. Character counts are the length of the text as written.

Before, the services and prices pages had no description, the about page had one of 272 characters, the contact page had one of 21, and the ribbons and ink pages shared one of 85. Docket reported this, in its own words:

2 pages have no meta description
The description is the sales pitch under the headline in search results. Without one Google extracts an arbitrary sentence from the page, often a cookie notice or a nav label.

1 meta description exceeds 165 characters
The tail gets truncated with an ellipsis, so any call to action at the end is lost.

1 meta description is very short
Short descriptions leave free advertising space unused in the search result.

2 pages share a duplicated meta description
Duplicate descriptions get rewritten by Google, so you lose control of the snippet.

The fixes it printed were: Write a 120–155 character description per page: what the page offers and why to click. Trim to under 165 characters with the key message first. Expand to 120–155 characters and include a reason to click. Write a distinct description per page describing that page's specific offer.

Here are three of the rewrites. The prices page, which had none:

Typewriter repair prices, fixed per machine and quoted before we start: a basic clean and oil, a full service, a new platen and postage. See each one.

That is 150 characters. The about page, which ran to 272, now says:

One person, one bench, a stack of service manuals and a waiting list: who repairs your typewriter at our Grand Rapids workshop, and how I got started.

That is 150. And the ribbons and ink pages, which had shared one line, now each say what is on their own page, at 142 and 127 characters:

Which ribbon fits your typewriter: spool or cartridge, how to measure the spool on your machine and what to buy for the most common portables.

Can a dry typewriter ribbon be saved? How to tell a dry ribbon from a worn one, and when a few drops of ink will bring it back.

Docket reported none of the four findings on the second audit.

What Docket cannot tell you

• Whether Google will show it. Google decides per search. Your description can be right and still not be the one on screen.
• Whether it is any good. A description can pass every check and say nothing. The test is whether someone choosing between your result and the one above it would pick yours.
• Pixel width. It counts characters by width, not pixels, so a description inside the bounds that is made of wide letters can still be cut on a phone.

Where to start

If the finding names a lot of pages, start with the ones that earn money or traffic, as Google suggests, and write those by hand. For the rest, fix the template so every page gets a sentence made from its own details rather than the same line. You can check one page's title and description now with the free title and meta tag checker, and titles have their own guide at how to write title tags that fit. What Docket adds is the same check across every page, ranked with the rest; see how that compares with other audit tools.

Common questions

Does Google use my meta description?

Sometimes. Google builds snippets mainly from the page's content and uses the description when it gives a more accurate picture of the page.

How long should a meta description be?

Google sets no limit and cuts the snippet to fit the device. Docket flags more than 165 wide and fewer than 70 wide, and asks for the point to come first.

Is a meta description a ranking factor?

Google's guidance describes it as a summary that can be used in the snippet, not as a ranking signal, so keyword lists in it are not worth the space.

Do I need a different description on every page?

Yes where you can. Google says identical descriptions on every page are not helpful; do the important pages first if you cannot do them all.