Opportunity On-Page SEO
Meta description over 160 characters
- Severity
- Opportunity
- Impact
- Low
- Effort to fix
- Low
- Issue code
desc_long
Why it matters
Long descriptions are usually truncated in search results.
How to fix it
Tighten the description so the key message fits within about 160 characters.
What this means
The meta description is longer than 160 characters. The evidence shows its length.
Why it matters
Google shows roughly 150 to 160 characters of a description on desktop, and less on mobile, then cuts it off. A long description is not penalised, but the part people actually see may stop before the point that makes them click. Very long descriptions are also more likely to be ignored in favour of a passage from the page.
This is an opportunity: fix it where the important part comes late.
Common causes
- The first paragraph of the article copied in automatically.
- Several sentences listing every feature or keyword.
- Templates that join several fields together.
How to fix it
- Put the key message in the first 120 characters, so it survives on mobile too.
- Cut repetition and filler, and keep one clear benefit or call to action.
- If a template builds it from the page content, limit the length and end on a full sentence, not mid-word.
Verify the fix
Recrawl and check the new length in the evidence. Descriptions a little over 160 characters with the important part up front are fine to leave. See also Meta description under 70 characters.
How it affects your score
Finding this issue on any page costs the On-Page SEO score 0.5 points, plus up to 4 more depending on the share of crawled pages affected. A smaller improvement with a modest effect on its own.
Find the affected URLs
Open Crawl > Issues and pick Meta description over 160 characters. Each affected URL is listed with its evidence, and Copy URLs or Export URLs hands the list to a developer. The issue also appears in the Action Plan, ranked by impact (low) and effort (low), and in the issues CSV under the code desc_long. After fixing, run a new audit and use Compare to confirm the URLs moved to fixed.