Content Matters Labs

What a meta description is and where to paste yours

The meta description doesn't appear on your published article. It only shows up in two places:

  1. As the gray text under your blue title in Google search results
  2. As the description preview when someone shares your link on LinkedIn, Facebook, or other social

Even though it's invisible on your site, it's one of the highest-leverage fields you'll fill in. It's the sentence that decides whether someone clicks through from Google.

Your Complete Deployment Packet provides one written for you — see SECTION 2: METADATA in each article’s 1_README.pdf. Use it as-is unless you want to localize it.

Length to aim for: 140-160 characters. Google may truncate longer ones with an ellipsis. The provided meta descriptions are already in this range.

Where to paste it by CMS:

  • WordPress (Yoast / Rank Math): Below the editor → SEO panel → Meta Description field.
  • Squarespace: Page Settings → SEO → SEO Description.
  • Webflow: Page Settings → SEO Meta Description.
  • Wix: Page settings → SEO basics → Description.
  • HubSpot: post Settings → Meta description.

What it should not be:

  • Keyword-stuffed (Google can detect and penalize)
  • A copy of your H1 (waste of the slot — say something different)
  • Longer than 160 characters (gets cut off)

— From Content Matters Labs —Your buyer is on a deadline — a permit review, a council meeting, a compliance audit, an event they didn’t see coming. Nobody reads a technical water article for fun. We write to the moment they’re actually in, so when they land on your page, their trust becomes yours.

Common meta description issues:

  • Google shows something different than what you wrote — Google sometimes overrides your meta with an auto-generated snippet from the article body. If yours reads well and is on-topic, Google will usually keep it.
  • Meta description field is missing in the editor — on WordPress you need an SEO plugin (Yoast or Rank Math) to expose the field. On Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, and HubSpot it’s built in.
  • Shows up on Google but not LinkedIn/Twitter (or vice versa) — social platforms read og:description, not meta description. If they differ, most SEO plugins let you set both.
  • Should I include my URL or company name? — no. The buyer already sees your domain in the result. Use the slot for the pitch that gets them to click.

Still stuck? Email us at contact@contentmatterslabs.com with your CMS and a screenshot. We’ll email you back within one business day with the answer.