— Free SEO tool
Meta description checker
Find the pages with no description, the ones sharing the same one, and the ones Google will cut short, across your whole site in one go.
Free tool · Meta description checker
Check every meta description on your site
Put in your home page. The checker reads up to 50 pages and flags descriptions that are missing, copied across pages, or long enough to be cut off.
Pages come from your sitemap, or by following links from the home page if there isn’t one. Results aren’t stored anywhere. Pages built entirely with JavaScript may show as empty, because this reads the HTML your server sends.
Starting…
No issues on the pages checked. Switch to “All pages” to see everything.
Want it fixed, not just found? The free audit covers the whole site, including what these checks can’t see: rankings, Search Console data and what to fix first.
Get a free SEO audit01 How it works
What it checks, and what Google actually says
Missing descriptions
With no description, Google writes a snippet from the page text. Sometimes that’s fine; often it’s the cookie notice or the first menu item. Writing one gives you a say in what searchers read.
Duplicates
Google asks for a unique description on every page. The same text across dozens of pages is the most common problem on template-built sites, and the easiest to fix.
Length
Google doesn’t publish a character limit. It cuts snippets to fit the screen. This checker estimates the width in pixels against the roughly 920px most tools use for desktop, so treat “likely cut short” as a warning, not a rule.
What it can’t tell you
Whether Google uses your description. It often writes its own when it thinks page text matches the search better. A description isn’t a ranking factor either: its only job is earning the click.
Sources: Google: Snippets and meta descriptions · Google: SEO Starter Guide
02 Questions
What people ask
How long should a meta description be?
Google doesn’t set a limit: it trims snippets to fit the device. Most descriptions that show in full on desktop are under about 155–160 characters, and mobile shows less, so put the most useful part first.
Does a missing meta description hurt rankings?
No. Google has said descriptions aren’t used for ranking. A missing one means Google picks text from the page for the snippet, which may not be the text you’d choose.
Why does Google show a different description from mine?
Google uses your description when it thinks it describes the page better than the page text does for that search. For other searches it writes its own. Specific, page-by-page descriptions get used more often than generic ones.
Is this checker free?
Yes. No sign-up and nothing stored. It checks up to 50 pages per run. For a bigger site, the SEO audit covers everything.
— Next step
Start with a free SEO audit
Send me your site and you’ll get a short, honest read on what’s wrong. If you want the detail after that, the full audit is a paid piece of work, or part of a retainer.
- 01The main things holding your site back, in plain English
- 02Which of them are worth fixing first
- 03Whether a full audit or a retainer makes sense, or neither