Meta description missing or empty
What it is
The page has no <meta name="description"> tag, or the tag’s content is empty or only whitespace. The meta description is a short summary of the page that you write yourself. Visitors do not see it on the page, but search engines can show it as the snippet under your title.
Why it matters
Google builds snippets mostly from page content and uses the meta description when it describes the page better. Without one, the snippet is entirely whatever text Google picks, which on a page with little copy may be a weak pitch for a click. Link previews in chat apps and tools that summarize pages may also read the description when present, each in its own way.
How Asky checks it
Asky looks for <meta name="description"> anywhere in the page’s raw HTML; one added by JavaScript is not seen. The page is reported when there is none, or when the first one has no content or only whitespace in it. The name is matched in any letter case, so name="Description" counts, while an og:description tag does not. The length checks are skipped while this is reported.
Reported as an opportunity with medium severity.
How to fix it
- Write a summary of this page of 70 to 140 characters: what it offers and why to click. Shorter is reported as below 70 characters, and from 141 characters it is reported as over 985 pixels.
- Enter it in the page’s SEO settings: the Meta description in Webflow page settings (or bound to a field in CMS template settings), the SEO plugin’s description field in WordPress, or the description field your Sanity schema passes to the front end.
- If the field is filled but the source shows no tag, the template does not print it: add one
<meta name="description" content="...">to the head of the template. - For many similar pages, such as products, fill it from a summary field of each item rather than one shared text: Google asks for a unique description per page.
- To leave it as it is: for pages not meant to rank, such as a login or thank-you page, mark the issue resolved.
Example
The head of https://example.com/pricing before and after:
<!-- Before: no meta description -->
<title>Pricing Plans for Teams and Agencies | Example Co</title>
<!-- After: 114 characters -->
<title>Pricing Plans for Teams and Agencies | Example Co</title>
<meta name="description" content="Compare plans for marketing teams and agencies, with monthly or yearly billing, volume discounts and a free trial.">