Description
 "Zoran Artmagic")
Reviewed by Zoran Artmagic ·
The meta description, or description for short, is a brief description of a page in the source code. Google often shows it as the text below the title in search results. It isn’t a ranking factor, but it helps decide whether someone clicks on a result. For online stores, it is therefore an important tool for actually turning good positions into visitors.
What the description looks like
The description sits as a meta tag in the header section of a page:
<meta name="description" content="Metal raised beds in 40 sizes, weatherproof galvanised. Free shipping from €50, delivery in 3 days.">
Together with the title tag, it forms the search result, the so-called snippet. The title is the headline, the description the explanatory text below it. An overview of all information in the header section is given in the entry on meta tags.
Not a ranking factor, but a click factor
Google doesn’t use the description to rank pages. Its effect lies elsewhere: in the search results it is, alongside the title, the most important text searchers use to decide which result to click. A concrete, convincing description increases the click-through rate, and more clicks at the same position mean more visitors and more revenue.
Why Google often doesn’t show the description
Google doesn’t adopt the description automatically. If another section of the page matches the specific search query better, Google shows that instead. This happens frequently, especially when
the description is missing,
it is identical on many pages,
it doesn’t reflect the page’s content,
it consists of strung-together search terms,
the search query asks for something that only appears in the page’s text.
A good description isn’t shown for every search, but for the most important one: the one the page is intended for.
How long can a description be?
There is no fixed limit. Google truncates the text in search results by pixel width, on desktop usually after around 150 to 160 characters, on smartphones sometimes earlier. As a guideline, 120 to 155 characters have proven effective. More important than the exact length is the order: the decisive point belongs in the first sentence.
How to write a good description
Match the content: the description describes exactly what is on the page. Promising something the page doesn’t deliver brings clicks without purchases.
Show the benefit: what does the searcher gain from clicking this particular result? Range, advice, delivery time, returns, experience.
Pick up the search term: Google highlights words in bold that match the search query. That stands out.
Unique per page: every page has its own description. Google ignores identical texts on many pages; more on this under duplicate content.
Write naturally: full sentences instead of lists. Ticks, stars and special characters quickly look dubious and are sometimes not displayed.
Nothing short-lived: prices, promotions and years change faster than the description. A wrong price in the search result costs trust.
Patterns for online stores
Page type | What belongs in it | Example |
category | range, key attribute, purchase advantage | Metal raised beds in 40 sizes, weatherproof galvanised. Free shipping from €50, delivery in 3 days. |
product | model, decisive features, advantage | Gartenwerk raised bed 200 × 80 cm in galvanised steel, assembled in 15 minutes. With a 10-year guarantee. |
guide | question and what the page answers | How do I fill a raised bed correctly? The four layers, the right soil and the best time at a glance. |
brand | brand, range, reason for the store | All raised beds and accessories from Gartenwerk, advised by gardening experts. Fast delivery straight from stock. |
Descriptions for large ranges
With thousands of products, not every description can be written by hand. For large websites, Google explicitly recommends generating descriptions automatically from the page’s content, as long as they are suitable and different for each page. For stores, this means templates that combine product name, brand and the most important attributes into a readable sentence, plus hand-written descriptions for the categories and products with the most revenue.
Descriptions in Shopware and Shopify
Shopware 6 offers a dedicated meta description field in the SEO section of products, categories and Shopping Experiences. What is output without an entry depends on version and theme. For large ranges, descriptions can be filled automatically via import or extensions.
Shopify maintains the description in the “Search engine listing” section of every product, collection and page. Without its own entry, Shopify uses the beginning of the product or collection description, which often leads to truncated, unconvincing texts.
More on the peculiarities of the systems under Shopware SEO and Shopify SEO.
Typical mistakes
Empty description: Google then chooses an arbitrary text section, often from navigation or notices.
The same description on all pages: for example the store’s general promotional text.
Strung-together search terms: look dubious and are replaced.
Too long, important points at the end: the decisive advantage is cut off.
Outdated information: prices, promotions or delivery times that are no longer correct.
How to check your descriptions
In Google Search Console: pages with many impressions and a low click-through rate are the best candidates for a better description.
In Google Search: search for your most important terms and check what Google actually displays.
With crawling tools: they find missing, duplicate and overly long descriptions across the whole store.
Frequently asked questions
Is the meta description a ranking factor?
No. But it influences how often a result is clicked.
How many characters should a description have?
As a guideline, 120 to 155 characters. The most important part belongs at the beginning, because Google truncates by pixel width.
Why doesn’t Google show my description?
Because Google considers another section of the page more suitable for the respective search query. A precise, unique description is usually adopted for the most important search queries.
Do I need a separate description for every product?
A suitable one, yes; a hand-written one, no. Automatically generated descriptions from product data are fine for large ranges, as long as they differ and are readable.
Does ChatGPT read the description too?
AI assistants mainly use the page’s content. The description can feed in as a summary, but what matters is that the page’s text itself answers the questions clearly. More on this under Generative Engine Optimization.