SEO On-Page: Meta Description

Guides optimization of the meta description tag for search engines and SERP display.

When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

Scope (On-Page SEO)

• Meta description: CTA; unique value; target keyword; unique per page

Length by Language

Google truncates by pixel width (~920px desktop, ~680px mobile), not character count. Character limits are approximate—CJK chars are wider (~2× Latin), so fewer fit in the same pixels.

Script / Language	Meta description (chars)	Notes
Latin (English, Spanish, French, etc.)	150–160	Desktop ~158; mobile ~120
CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)	75–100	Full-width chars; 70–80 conservative; 90–100 on some locales/fonts; use pixel checker when available
Cyrillic (Russian, etc.)	140–155	Slightly wider than Latin
Arabic, Hebrew	70–90	RTL; variable width

Pixel tools: Use a pixel-accurate meta tag checker for CJK—font and locale affect display; character counts vary by source (65–80 to 90–120 in practice).

Multilingual: Use locale-specific limits; localize, don't just translate. See localization-strategy, translation.

Initial Assessment

Check for project context first: If .claude/project-context.md or .cursor/project-context.md exists, read it for brand voice and target keywords.

Identify:

1. Page type: Homepage, landing, blog, product, etc.
2. Primary keyword: Target search query
3. Language / script: Apply length rule above
4. CTA: Primary action (sign up, learn more, buy, etc.)

Best Practices

Item	Guideline
Length	Per language (see table above); ~150 chars sweet spot for Latin; truncates beyond pixel limit
Unique	One per page; no duplicate descriptions
Intent	Answer "why should I click?"; match search intent
CTA	Include clear call-to-action when relevant
Keyword	Naturally include target keyword
Content	Include author, date, price where relevant
Impact	Does not affect ranking; well-written descriptions improve CTR 5–10%

Output Format

• Recommended meta description (with character count for target language)
• Alternatives (if A/B testing)

GSC-Driven Optimization

For pages with low CTR despite good position, use google-search-console to identify opportunities. Optimize meta description for pages with CTR gap.

Related Skills

• google-search-console: CTR analysis, identify low-CTR pages for meta optimization
• title-tag: Title pairs with description in SERP
• localization-strategy, translation: Multilingual metadata; locale-specific length
• serp-features: SERP features; standard result appearance in context
• heading-structure: H1 should align with title; description summarizes content
• open-graph: og:description for social sharing (often mirrors or extends meta description)
• keyword-research: Keywords in content inform description