SEO description examples: worked before and after copy for every description field

There are five description fields that affect how you appear in search, and they need different copy. The meta description sells the click in a result listing. The Google Business Profile description explains the business on your map listing. A product or category description does the selling on the page itself. The schema.org description property feeds structured data. The Open Graph description controls how a shared link looks. Writing one sentence and pasting it into all five is the most common mistake, and the examples below show what each field should say instead.

Every example here is written to a formula you can reuse: lead with the specific thing the reader wants, add the detail that separates you, then say what to do next. No padding, no restating the page title.

1. Meta description examples

This is the grey text under your link. It is not a ranking factor, and Google rewrites it when it finds something on the page that matches the query better. It still earns clicks, so write it for the person deciding between ten blue links. Aim for roughly 150 characters so it survives on desktop, and front load the first 110 so it survives on mobile.

Page type	Weak	Better
Service page	We offer professional plumbing services for all your needs. Contact us today for more information.	Emergency plumbers across Leeds, on site within two hours. Fixed quotes before work starts, no call out fee on weekdays. Call or book online.
Product page	Buy the best running shoes online at great prices with fast delivery.	Mens road running shoe, 240g, 8mm drop, sizes 6 to 14. Free UK delivery over a set basket value and 60 day returns. In stock today.
Category page	Browse our wide range of office chairs.	Office chairs with adjustable lumbar support, from task chairs to 24 hour seating. Filter by weight capacity, warranty and delivery date.
Blog post	In this article we will discuss how to write meta descriptions.	A length target by device, nine worked examples by page type, and the Search Console report that shows which pages are losing clicks.
Local landing page	Welcome to our Manchester branch, serving customers since 1998.	Our Manchester workshop on Oldham Road, open 8am to 6pm weekdays and Saturday mornings. Free parking, while you wait diagnostics, same day collection.
Home page	The leading provider of innovative solutions for modern business.	Payroll software for UK companies with 10 to 250 staff. RTI submissions, auto enrolment and payslips in one place. Free trial, no card needed.

The pattern across every improved version: a concrete noun, a number or a constraint, and a next step. Delete the words "solutions", "needs", "wide range" and "we offer" and most descriptions improve immediately.

2. Google Business Profile description examples

This field allows up to 750 characters and appears on your profile. It is not the place for keyword stuffing, and it should not contain offers or links. Describe what the business does, who it serves, where, and what is distinctive.

Weak: "We are the best dentist in the city with years of experience and the latest technology. Call us now for the best prices!"

Better: "A family dental practice on Church Street, caring for patients across the city centre and the northern suburbs since 2004. We provide routine examinations and hygiene appointments, white fillings, crowns and bridges, root canal treatment, clear aligners and emergency appointments. Four surgeries, step free access from the street, and a dedicated children's clinic on Saturday mornings. Our clinicians are registered with the General Dental Council, we offer both NHS and private care, and treatment costs are written down before any work begins. Parking is behind the building."

That version answers the questions a real person asks before booking, which is also what the search features built on profiles pull from.

3. Product and category description examples

These are on page copy, and they do two jobs: match the words buyers use, and remove the reason someone would not buy. Manufacturer text copied across hundreds of retailers gives you nothing unique to rank with, so rewrite it.

• Lead with the use case. "A 15 litre rucksack for commuting by bike, with a laptop sleeve to 14 inches and a roll top that stays dry in heavy rain."
• Put the specifications in a list, not a paragraph. Weight, dimensions, materials, compatibility, warranty, what is in the box.
• Answer the returns question in the description. Fit, sizing and compatibility doubts are the top reasons a basket is abandoned.
• Write category copy as a buying guide. Two short paragraphs above or below the grid explaining how to choose between the options, with the differences that actually matter.

4. The schema.org description property

Structured data has its own description field, and it should be plain text with no HTML and no marketing fluff, because it is read by machines. Keep it factual and consistent with the page.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Commuter Roll Top Rucksack 15L",
  "description": "A 15 litre roll top rucksack for cycle commuting, with a padded sleeve for laptops up to 14 inches, reflective panels on three sides and a two year warranty.",
  "brand": { "@type": "Brand", "name": "Example" },
  "sku": "RT15-BLK"
}

For a local business, the same field describes the organisation rather than a product, and it should match what you wrote on your profile so the two do not contradict each other.

5. Open Graph description examples

This is what appears when somebody pastes your link into a message or a social post. It can be more conversational than a meta description, because the reader has been handed the link by a person rather than finding it in a list.

<meta property="og:title" content="SEO description examples, by field" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Nine before and after examples across meta descriptions, business profiles, product copy and structured data." />

With nothing set, most platforms fall back to your meta description. Setting it deliberately on your main commercial pages is better.

A checklist for writing any description

• One page, one description. Duplicates across pages waste the field entirely.
• Specific before general. A number, a place, a size or a timeframe in the first clause.
• No repetition of the page title, and no restating of your brand name twice.
• Active voice, present tense, and a verb the reader can act on.
• Match the page. A description promising something the page does not deliver gets rewritten by Google and bounced by readers.

Finding the descriptions worth rewriting first

Do not rewrite everything. In Search Console, open the Performance report, sort your pages by impressions, and look for the ones with high impressions and a low click through rate. Those are pages people are being shown and not choosing. Rewrite those descriptions first, note the date, and compare the following month.

This page covers example copy for each description field and the length to write to. For the mechanics of why Google replaces a meta description and how to reduce it, see a dedicated meta description guide.

What people ask about SEO description examples

How long should an SEO description be?

Write meta descriptions to around 150 characters, with the essential words in the first 110 so they hold up on a phone. Google measures pixel width rather than characters, so a line full of capitals or wide letters truncates earlier. Business profile descriptions can run to 750 characters and should use most of that.

Does the meta description affect rankings?

It does not influence ranking directly. It influences whether people click the result they are shown, and a page that earns clicks and keeps readers tends to hold its position. Treat it as advertising copy with a strict character budget.

Why does Google show different text than my meta description?

Google replaces the description when a passage from the page matches the query more closely, which happens most on long pages that cover several subtopics. Writing a description that covers the main query of the page, and keeping each page focused on one topic, is what reduces the rewriting.

Can I use the same description on similar pages?

Write a distinct one for each. Duplicate descriptions across near identical pages, such as town pages or colour variants, are a sign to search engines that the pages are the same, which is the opposite of what you want. Change the detail that genuinely differs: the location, the size, the delivery time.

Should I write descriptions with AI?

Drafting them with an AI tool is efficient, especially across hundreds of product pages. Give it the real specifications as input, then check each one for accuracy and cut the generic adjectives it adds. A description containing a wrong size or an invented feature costs more than a blank field.

One description you have not written yet

Assistants now describe businesses in their own words. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude or Google's AI Overviews what a company does, and you get a paragraph assembled from whatever those systems have read: your site, your profile, directories, review sites, press. They answer differently from each other, and the descriptions they produce are the first thing many buyers now read about you.

It is worth seeing yours. Ask two or three assistants the questions your buyers ask, keeping your company name out of the prompt so the answer is not led, and read the description that comes back against the five fields above. Where it is wrong, the fix is at the source it is reading. AI Knows Us is a tool built for running that check on a schedule.