A short summary of the page placed in its HTML. Google may show it as the text snippet under the title in results, or use text from the page instead if that fits the query better.
Example
Meera writes: 'Breathable linen kurtas in 12 colours, sizes XS to 3XL. Free alterations at our Pune store.' It is unique to the page and gives a searcher a reason to click.
How you'll hear it
“Write a real meta description for each category; right now Google is pulling random text from the footer.”
Don't confuse it with
- Title tag: the headline of the result. Meta description: the text below it.
- Snippet: what Google actually shows, which may or may not be your meta description.
Related terms
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Sources
- Control your snippets in search results, Google Search Central
- Meta description, Moz