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Guide

Set a meta description in WordPress

The meta description is your ad in the Google results. Here's how to set it cleanly — with any of the common SEO plugins, or without one.

What is the meta description?

The short block of text Google shows below the title in the search results. It doesn't directly influence rankings but heavily affects click-through rate (CTR). Higher CTR → better positions over time.

The most important rules

  • Length: 120–160 characters. Beyond that Google truncates.
  • Focus keyword mentioned once, naturally — Google bolds it in the result.
  • Active voice, with clear value for the reader. No filler.
  • Call to action when appropriate ("Compare now", "Get it done in 5 minutes").
  • Unique per page. Never reuse the same description on two URLs.

Example: good vs. bad

Bad: "Welcome to our site. We offer WordPress SEO. Learn more."

Good: "WordPress SEO without plugin clutter: SignalWP tells you weekly what changed in your rankings — and what's next."

Set it in Yoast SEO

  1. Open the post, scroll to the Yoast SEO box.
  2. Click Edit snippet.
  3. Enter your text in the Meta description field.
  4. The preview shows live how Google will render it.

More on Yoast SEO →

Set it in RankMath

  1. Open the post, expand the RankMath panel on the right.
  2. Click Edit Snippet.
  3. Enter your text in the Description field.
  4. The score on the right shows optimisation suggestions — useful, not gospel.

More on RankMath →

Set it in AIOSEO

  1. Open the post, scroll to the AIOSEO Settings box.
  2. Open the General tab.
  3. Enter your text in the Meta Description field.

More on AIOSEO →

Without an SEO plugin (in code)

Possible, but only sensible if you actively maintain your theme. In your child theme's functions.php:

add_action('wp_head', function () {
  if (is_singular()) {
    $desc = get_post_meta(get_the_ID(), '_meta_description', true);
    if ($desc) {
      echo '<meta name="description" content="' . esc_attr($desc) . '">';
    }
  }
});

Then you also need a custom field _meta_description per post. For most workflows: not worth the effort, use a plugin.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving it empty. Google auto-generates one — usually the first words of the post. Rarely good.
  • Description as a keyword dump. Reads terribly, kills CTR.
  • Identical description across many pages. Google then ignores it entirely.
  • Special characters / emojis without purpose. Can truncate the snippet.

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