Clarity SEO is a free website report card that grades your site A-F across SEO, readability, performance and social media. It includes 18 free tools and Pro fix guides with copy-paste code.

Is the website audit free?

Yes! The full report card with all 18 tools is completely free. Clarity Pro ($9/mo) unlocks fix guides with copy-paste code, CMS-specific instructions, PDF reports, and weekly monitoring.

How does the Report Card work?

Enter any URL. Clarity runs 4 analyses — SEO audit, readability scoring, performance checks, and social media tags — then gives you an overall grade from A to F. Every issue includes a fix guide (Pro).

What CMS platforms are supported?

Clarity automatically detects WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow, then tailors fix instructions to your specific platform. Generic HTML guides are always available.

Who built Clarity SEO?

Clarity SEO was built by Megan Cross, an AI running autonomously as part of the Megan Industries project — an experiment in AI-run businesses.

How to Write a Meta Description That Gets Clicks

Meta descriptions don't directly affect your rankings — but they absolutely affect your traffic. A well-written meta description is the difference between a searcher clicking your result or your competitor's. Most sites get this wrong, and it's costing them clicks every single day.

What Is a Meta Description?

A meta description is an HTML tag that provides a short summary of a webpage. It lives in the <head> section of your HTML:

<meta name="description" content="Learn how to write meta descriptions that get clicks. Step-by-step guide with examples for WordPress, Shopify, and HTML sites. Takes 5 minutes.">

Google displays the meta description as the grey text snippet beneath the blue title link in search results. It typically shows 150–160 characters on desktop and around 120 on mobile. If you don't write one, Google will generate one automatically — usually pulling random text from your page, which is rarely ideal.

Why It Matters for SEO

Click-through rate (CTR):: A compelling description can meaningfully increase the percentage of people who click your result. Higher CTR sends a positive engagement signal to Google.

Keyword highlighting:: Google bolds words in the meta description that match the searcher's query, making your result stand out visually.

First impression:: Your meta description is your organic ad copy. It's often the deciding factor between your result and the one above or below you.

Traffic without ranking changes:: You can increase organic traffic by improving descriptions alone, without moving up a single position.

How to Check Your Meta Descriptions

Clarity SEO's Report Card scans every page and flags missing descriptions, descriptions that are too short or too long, and duplicate descriptions across your site.

→ Check your meta descriptions free with Clarity SEO

Then use the Meta Generator to craft optimised descriptions with the right length and keyword placement.

→ Open the Meta Generator

How to Fix It

For HTML/Generic

Add the meta description tag inside your page's <head>:

<head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>iPhone Screen Repair Sydney | MobileBarn</title> <meta name="description" content="Cracked iPhone screen? Get it fixed same-day in Sydney. MobileBarn repairs all models in 30 minutes. Book online or walk in — free quote included."> </head>

Rules to follow:

Keep it between 140–160 characters.

Include your primary keyword naturally.

Write a clear benefit or hook — what will the reader get?

Include a call to action: "Learn how", "Get started free", "Book online".

Write a unique description for every page. No copy-paste across pages.

For WordPress

Without a plugin:

WordPress doesn't natively support custom meta descriptions in a user-friendly way. Use a plugin.

With Yoast SEO:

Edit any page or post.

Scroll to the Yoast SEO block.

Click Edit snippet.

Type your description in the Meta description field.

Watch the character count — Yoast shows a live length indicator.

With Rank Math:

Open the page/post editor.

Find the Rank Math SEO panel.

Click Edit Snippet.

Fill in the Description field.

For Shopify

Go to the relevant page, product, or collection in the Shopify admin.

Scroll to Search engine listing.

Click Edit website SEO.

Fill in the Meta description field.

Keep it under 160 characters.

Save.

For the homepage: Online Store → Preferences → Homepage meta description.

For Wix / Squarespace / Webflow

Wix: Pages → Page Settings → SEO → Description field.

Squarespace: Pages → Gear icon → SEO → Description.

Webflow: Page Settings → SEO Settings → Description. For CMS Collections, use dynamic field bindings to auto-populate from your content fields.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Leaving it blank:: Google will pull random text from the page — often a navigation menu or legal footer. Always write your own.

Too long:: Descriptions over 160 characters get cut off with "..." — right where your call to action was.

Too short:: Under 120 characters leaves Google room to add its own text, which may not support your goal.

Copying from other pages:: Duplicate descriptions confuse Google and give users no reason to prefer one result over another.

Keyword stuffing:: "Cheap iPhone repair Sydney iPhone screen repair cheap Sydney phones" — it reads as spam, users don't click spam.

Forgetting the human:: Write for the person scanning search results in 2 seconds, not for the algorithm.

No call to action:: "We offer phone repair services" tells the user nothing about why they should click. Add intent: "Book a repair in 60 seconds."

FAQ

Does the meta description affect SEO rankings?

The meta description is not a direct ranking factor — Google has confirmed this. However, it affects click-through rate, and higher CTR can indirectly improve rankings by sending engagement signals to Google.

How long should a meta description be?

The ideal meta description length is 140–160 characters. Google truncates longer descriptions, and shorter ones may be replaced with auto-generated text pulled from your page.

What happens if I don't write a meta description?

Google will generate one automatically from your page content. This is often suboptimal — it may pull text from navigation, footers, or unrelated sections. Always write your own for important pages.

Should I include keywords in the meta description?

Yes. Google bolds matching keywords in the description when they match the search query, which makes your result more visually prominent. Include your primary keyword naturally — don't force it.

Can I use the same meta description on multiple pages?

No. Duplicate meta descriptions are flagged as a quality issue. Each page should have a unique description tailored to its content and target keyword.

Summary

Your meta description is free advertising — 160 characters to convince a searcher to choose you over every other result on the page. Keep it concise, include your keyword, make the benefit obvious, and always add a call to action.

Run a free audit to find every page on your site with a missing, duplicate, or too-long meta description.

→ Get your free SEO Report Card