What is a meta description? (and how to write one)

What it is

When you search on Google, each result shows a title, a link and a short snippet of text. A meta description is the line you write to suggest what that snippet should say. It is hidden on the page itself but read by search engines and sometimes shown to people.

Search engines may also choose their own snippet from your page instead, so you cannot fully control it. Think of the meta description as your best suggestion.

It is a pitch, not a trick

Do not expect it to push your page up the results. I will not claim any ranking effect. What it can do is help a person decide whether your link is the one they want, which is a human job, not a machine one. Write it for the reader.

How long should it be

A common habit is to keep it around 150 characters, so it does not get cut off with dots. Treat that as a rough guide, not a rule, since display lengths vary by device. A single clear sentence or two is plenty.

A worked example for a tea product

Say you sell a first-flush Darjeeling tea, 100 grams, for Rs 450.

A weak description would be: "Buy best tea online at best price. Quality tea. Order now."

It says nothing specific, and every tea seller could write it.

A stronger one:

"Light, floral Darjeeling tea in a 100 g pouch, packed in small batches. Brewing tips inside and delivery across India."

Why it works:

• It says what the product is, the pack size and the taste in plain words.
• It mentions one real detail, the small batches, that you can stand behind.
• It tells a shopper what they get, which helps them click with confidence.

Notice there is no claim that cannot be backed up. Avoid words like "best in India" or "100 percent pure" unless you can prove them. The post on avoiding exaggerated claims in product descriptions goes deeper.

A simple recipe

Write it in this order:

• Start with what the product is, in the words a shopper would use.
• Add one specific detail, such as size, material or how it is made.
• End with a short practical point, like delivery or care help.

Keep each page's description different. If every product has the same line, the descriptions stop being useful.

Match it to the page

The description should honestly describe the page it sits on. If it promises free shipping and the page does not, you will annoy people who click. Check it against the real product page before you finish.

What Varchas does here

I have not confirmed a dedicated meta description field in the Varchas admin, so I will not tell you where to type one. What I can say is that your product title and description are the raw material a store page uses to explain itself, so writing those clearly is the best place to put your effort. See how to write a product title that gets found and what details to put in every product description.

Where to start

Pick your three best-selling products. For each, write one sentence of up to about 150 characters following the recipe above. Read them aloud. If they sound like a real person describing a real thing, they are done.