WordPress meta description: templates, before and after examples, and why Google rewrites it
A WordPress meta description is a short page summary Google may show under the title in search results. WordPress has no field for it, so you enter it in an SEO plugin, such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math, below the post content. A good description has about 120 to 160 characters, says exactly what's on the page, and differs for every page.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for WordPress site and WooCommerce store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 6 min read
Where to add the meta description in WordPress
It depends on which SEO plugin you have. You can check in Plugins → Installed Plugins.
| Situation | Where the description field is | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Yoast SEO | the Yoast SEO box below the post content, Meta description field | for categories the field is on the category edit screen |
| Rank Math | the Rank Math box, Edit Snippet button | Rank Math can also edit many descriptions on the post list |
| No SEO plugin | WordPress has no such field | you need a plugin to add one; the post excerpt doesn't go to Google as the description |
| Two SEO plugins at once | two fields, two descriptions in the page code | keep one plugin |
In Yoast the description field looks the same in posts, pages and WooCommerce products. Rank Math explains where its fields are in the article on adding the title, description and keyword, and how to edit many descriptions at once in the post on editing SEO meta at scale.
How to add a description in Yoast SEO for a single post:
- Open the post in the editor.
- Scroll below the content to the Yoast SEO box.
- Click the Meta description field and write the description. The bar below the field shows whether the length is about right.
- Check the Google preview above the field.
- Update the post.
How many characters a meta description should have
About 120 to 160. Google doesn't give a firm limit; it cuts any description that doesn't fit in the result. Less fits on a phone than on a computer. Yoast says in its guide to meta description length that it's good to stay within about 155 characters.
What's at the start matters more than the number. The first hundred characters should say on their own what the page is about.
Meta description templates for different pages
Each type of page needs something different. A template is a starting point. You still write each description about that specific page.
- Guide: a question or problem + what the reader gets. “Roses getting frost damage despite covering? See when to earth up the bushes, what to cover them with and how to overwinter roses in pots on a balcony.”
- Service page: what you do + who for + what sets you apart. “Made-to-measure oak, beech and ash kitchen worktops. Measuring in Leeds and the surrounding area, oiling included. Check lead times.”
- Blog category: what's inside. “Guides to roses: planting, pruning, feeding and overwintering. Practical tips for gardens and balconies.”
- WooCommerce product: product + key feature + a buying detail. “Winter garden fleece 50 g/m², 1.6 × 10 m roll. Protects plants from frost and wind. Ships within 24 h.”
The values in the examples are illustrative. Only put in the description what's true for you.
Avoid descriptions written to one formula: “Read our article about…”, “Find out more about…” on every page. Google says plainly in its guide to snippets that identical or very similar descriptions across many pages don't help.
Before and after: three typical mistakes
Empty description. Google then picks a piece of the content, often the first sentences of the post.
- Before (shown by Google): “Hello everyone, today we'd like to tell you about something you often ask us about in the shop…”
- After: “How do you overwinter roses in the garden and in pots? When to earth them up, what to cover them with and which mistakes to avoid at the first frosts.”
Description too generic.
- Before: “The best gardening advice. Enjoy reading.”
- After: the specific topic of this page, as above.
Description as a keyword list.
- Before: “roses, overwintering roses, roses in winter, covering roses, roses in pots”
- After: a sentence that reads like an invitation, with the phrase worked in once.
Why Google shows a different description from mine
Because Google matches the description to the query. It treats the meta description you entered as a suggestion. If someone searches for “roses in pots in winter” and your description only mentions the garden, Google may show a passage from the paragraph about pots.
The most common reasons for a rewrite:
- the description is generic and doesn't say what's on the page,
- the same description repeats across many pages,
- the description promises something that isn't in the content,
- the description is very short or just a list of words.
You won't win this on every query, and you don't need to. Make sure the description sums up the page's main topic well. For other queries Google will pick a passage from the content anyway.
200 posts without a description: how to fill in meta descriptions in batches
Filling in descriptions by hand makes sense for a few important pages. With two hundred posts it's many evenings of clicking, post by post.
That's what the “Posts and pages SEO in batches” task in the TellMyShop plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce is for. Your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) gathers a list of posts or pages without a meta description or meta title, reads the content of the first two or three and shows samples. Once you accept the style, it works in batches of up to 50 descriptions, and you see each batch in a preview with the character count next to each description. It saves to Yoast SEO or Rank Math, whichever you use. If you have no SEO plugin, it saves to TellMyShop's own fields, which add the description to the page themselves.
You: Fill in the meta descriptions for posts in the Guides category.
Your chat: In the Guides category, 63 posts have no meta description. Three samples for you to approve the style:
You: Good, but without a question at the start of every description.
Your chat: I'll change the style. Then I'll prepare the first batch of 50 descriptions for preview. I'll save it after your ‘yes’.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”How to overwinter roses
old version: (no description)
new version: How do you overwinter roses in the garden and in pots? When to earth them up, what to cover them with and which mistakes to avoid at the first frosts. (148 chars)
Pruning roses in spring
old version: (no description)
new version: When and how should you prune roses in spring? Pruning times for hybrid tea, climbing and ground cover roses, and the tools you'll need. (135 chars)
In this task the chat doesn't change post titles, content or addresses. Each batch goes into the change history, and you undo it with the request “undo the last change”. In TellMyShop Free the chat shows the list of posts without a description and “before → after” suggestions, but saves nothing. TellMyShop Pro saves the changes in the same conversation. Details are on the TellMyShop for WordPress and WooCommerce page, prices on the pricing page.
The meta description is one element of a good post. The others are covered in the guide on how to write a WordPress blog post, and for older posts in how to refresh an old post. More posts are on the blog.
Questions and answers
Does WordPress have a meta description field without a plugin?
No. WordPress itself doesn't add a description for Google to the page, and the post excerpt isn't used as a meta description. The field appears only with an SEO plugin, such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math. The TellMyShop plugin has its own title and description fields, which work when you have no other SEO plugin. The chat fills them in TellMyShop Pro.
How many characters should a meta description have?
The usual figure is about 120 to 160 characters. Google has no fixed limit; it just cuts the description when it doesn't fit in the result. Put the key information in the first hundred characters and treat the rest as extra.
Does the meta description affect rankings in Google?
Not directly. The description affects whether someone clicks your result. A good description says what the reader will find on the page, so it attracts people looking for exactly that.
Why does Google show a different description from the one I entered?
Google matches the description to the query. If it decides a piece of the page's content better answers what someone is looking for, it shows that piece. This happens more often when the description is generic, too short, repeated across many pages or doesn't match the content.
Does every post need its own meta description?
Ideally yes, especially important posts, service pages and products. The same description on many pages tells the reader nothing. With hundreds of old posts, start with those that get impressions in Google and fill in the rest in batches.
WordPress is a trademark of the WordPress Foundation. WooCommerce is a trademark of Automattic Inc. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.