Warningmeta.description-missing

The page has no meta description

Why it matters

The meta description is your pitch under the blue link in a search result, and what most networks show under the title when the page is shared and has no og:description. Without one, the snippet is whatever sentence the search engine lifts from the page: often a cookie notice or a menu. It doesn't affect ranking; it affects whether anyone clicks.

Source: Control your snippets in search results: Google "may use" the meta description when it describes the page better than the page's own text.

How to fix it

Add one inside <head>: a sentence or two on what the visitor gets from this page, written for a person deciding whether to click.

<meta name="description" content="Hand-made wedding cakes in Leeds, delivered and set up on the day. Tastings every Saturday: book yours." />

Write a different one for each page; the same description everywhere is little better than none.

Examples

These are the rule's own test pages, and what it says about each. They are run on every change to the rule book.

<meta name="description" content="  ">

WarningThe meta description is empty, so search engines pick a sentence from the page for you.

fail-empty
<meta property="og:description" content="Only for sharing">

WarningThe page has no meta description, so search engines pick a sentence from the page for you.

fail-none
<meta name="description" content="a">
<meta name="description" content="b">

WarningThe page has 2 meta descriptions; search engines may use either, or neither.

fail-two
<meta name="Description" content="Hand-made wedding cakes in Leeds.">

PassedThe page has a meta description.

pass-one