Page Level SEO Warning: Missing Search Engine Description

If you’ve received a warning in SureRank stating:  “Search engine description is missing on the page.”

This guide will help you understand what this means, why it’s important, and how to fix it even if you’re not technical.

What’s the Problem

The search engine description (meta description) is a short summary of your page that appears in Google search results. When it’s missing:

• Google may automatically generate a description from your page content, which might not be accurate or compelling.
• Your click-through rate (CTR) can decrease because users may not understand what the page is about.
• SEO performance is reduced, as meta descriptions help search engines understand the context of your page.

Example of what can go wrong:

• Search results show unrelated text instead of a clear summary.
• Users may skip your page because it looks irrelevant in search results.

Why This Matters

• Improves CTR: A well-written description encourages users to click your link.
• Helps search engines understand your page: Gives context for ranking.
• Avoids duplicate content issues: Missing descriptions can lead to Google picking content from elsewhere on the page.

What to Do

Step 1 – Open the Page in WordPress

• Go to your WordPress dashboard.
• Go to Pages, Posts, Product, or CPT and click Edit on the page with the issue.

Step 2 – Add a Search Engine Description Using SureRank

• Open SureRank settings.
• Configure Search Engine Description
• Write a concise and compelling summary of your page (150–160 characters recommended).
  • Focus on the main topic or benefit of the page.
  • Include your target keyword naturally.
• You can also configure a meta field for the Search Engine Description

Step 3 – Save 

• Click Save to save your changes.

Step 4 – Verify with SureRank

• Edit the page in WordPress.
• Click the SureRank icon in the top-right corner of the editor.
• Select Analyze – this will open the Analyze tab, showing a list of Page Checks.
• Once the changes are made, the SureRank page-level check will automatically run and update the status.
• If editing the page using a Page Builder, please save your changes in the editor before refreshing the checks.

Additional Suggestions

• Avoid using the same description on multiple pages.
• Make it action-oriented to increase clicks (e.g., “Learn how to…” or “Discover tips for…”).
• Include important keywords without keyword stuffing.