More than one meta description
What it is
The page contains two or more <meta name="description"> tags. The HTML standard allows only one per document . Duplicates usually mean two systems both write the tag: a theme and an SEO plugin, two SEO plugins, or a page setting plus a tag pasted into custom head code.
Why it matters
Google does not document which of several descriptions it uses, so the snippet under your title may come from a default your theme generates instead of the summary you edited. Two sources also mean that a change made in one place may never reach search results or the link previews other tools build from the page.
How Asky checks it
Asky counts the <meta name="description"> tags anywhere in the page’s raw HTML, in the head or the body; tags added by JavaScript are not seen. Two or more are reported, even when their text is identical, and the finding lists each one’s content. The name is matched in any letter case, and og:description tags are not counted. The length checks read only the first tag. If none of the tags is inside the head, the page is also reported as meta description outside the head. If the first tag is empty, meta description missing or empty is reported as well.
Reported as an error with high severity.
How to fix it
- Open the page source, search for
name="description"and note each tag. Its content, listed in the finding, often shows the source: an excerpt of the page points to the theme, your own summary to the SEO field. - Pick one system to own the description, usually the SEO plugin or the CMS’s SEO field, and switch off the other: a theme option, a second SEO plugin, or a tag in custom code (Webflow site or page custom code, a WordPress header template).
- Keep the remaining tag in the head, with 70 to 140 characters so it raises no length finding.
- When the duplicate comes from a template, fixing the template clears every page that uses it.
Example
On https://example.com/pricing the theme adds a description next to the SEO plugin’s:
<!-- Before -->
<meta name="description" content="Example Co">
<meta name="description" content="Compare plans for marketing teams and agencies, with monthly or yearly billing, volume discounts and a free trial.">
<!-- After: the theme's tag is switched off -->
<meta name="description" content="Compare plans for marketing teams and agencies, with monthly or yearly billing, volume discounts and a free trial.">