Per-check failure index
Missing Meta Description
Google rewrites the snippet when you don't supply one, and the rewrite is rarely what you'd choose.
Audited
75
Failing
28
Passing
47
What this check looks for
The meta description is the 150–160 character snippet under your title in search results. Missing it doesn't tank rankings directly, but it kills click-through rate. Google's auto-snippet usually pulls a random sentence from the page, which converts worse than a deliberate hook. Write one per page, keep it under 160 characters, mention the keyword once, and finish with a reason to click.
Quick take
Empty meta descriptions are the cheapest click-through-rate fix on this list. Google fills the gap with whatever sentence it pulls off the page (usually nav text or the first paragraph), and the result converts worse than anything you'd write yourself. Sixteen of the SaaS sites in this gallery still ship pages with no description on the URLs that matter most.
Why this matters
Meta descriptions don't move rank. They move the click. The line under the blue title is the one paragraph of marketing copy you control on a search result, and Google rewrites it ~70% of the time when you leave it blank (Backlinko, 30M-SERP study, 2023). The rewrite is usually pulled from the first body paragraph, which on most SaaS sites is feature copy, not a hook. A custom 155-character description on a high-traffic page can lift CTR 5–15% without changing rank.
How to fix it (3 steps)
-
1
Crawl, sort by traffic, fix the top pages first
Run Screaming Frog (free up to 500 URLs) or Sitebulb. Filter for empty descriptions, sort by sessions, fix the top 20. Templated descriptions on long-tail pages are fine; Google rewrites those too, but the volume isn't worth the hand-craft.
-
2
Write 150–155 characters, lead with a number
Under 120 leaves SERP space empty. Over 160 truncates mid-sentence. Lead with a specific number or claim, mention the keyword once, finish with a hook to click. Boring descriptions ("Learn more about our SEO tool") get rewritten anyway.
-
3
Don't repeat the title or the H1
The title and description show together in the search result. Repeating the title wastes the second line and Google falls back to its rewrite anyway. Use the description to answer "why click this result?" The title already said what the page is.
How-to-fix guide
How to Fix a Missing Meta Description
Step-by-step fix with HowTo schema. ~5 min read.
Failing (28)
sorted by overall audit score (worst first)
Passing (47)
sorted by overall audit score (best first)
Other SEO checks in the gallery audit
- Missing or Weak Title Tag
- Slow Page Speed
- Not Mobile Friendly
- No HTTPS / Missing SSL
- Missing Open Graph Tags
- Missing Canonical URL
- Missing or Misconfigured robots.txt
- Missing XML Sitemap
- Missing Structured Data
- No H1 or Multiple H1s
- Missing Image Alt Tags
See the full breakdown across every site on the SaaS SEO Scoreboard.
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