Title tags and Meta descriptions are important elements of your website’s content. The title tag and the Meta description tags should include keywords relevant to the content of the web page they describe. This helps Search Engines understand what the page is about and index your web pages accordingly for relevant keywords or keyword phrases.
The Title Tag
The title tag is the title element of a web page that summarizes the content found on a page. It will appear in three key places: browsers, search engine results pages, and external sites such as Facebook or Twitter. We’ll look at examples of title tags later.
There’s one important thing to keep in mind. Search engines expect a ‘title tag’ to include relevant keywords and phrases that describe what that page is about. So if the title you create is not relevant for the page, Google can choose to show a different title instead. You don’t want that to happen. Why? Because title tags are a great opportunity to attract prospects to click through to your site so make sure it gives an accurate, concise, and compelling summary of what that page is about.
When writing title tags:
- The title must be highly relevant to the content found on that specific page.
- Include 2-3 keywords within your title.
- Keep the main keyword phrase at the front of the title.
- Write naturally to visitors and avoid keyword stuffing.
- Avoid duplication. Each page will have a different topic so it needs to have a unique title.
- Potentially include your brand name at the end of the title tag, but focus on getting your message across first.
- Keep the title length between 50-60 charactersIf you write a title that’s longer than that, it’ll get cut off, showing an ellipsis “….” in the search results
- Make it compelling. Your title tag should be appealing enough to entice visitors to click to find out more about what you have to offer.
Can Google override your title tag?
Occasionally yes. Sometimes if Google doesn’t like your title tag it will rewrite it for its search engine results, pulling in information from your Meta description and page content. Chances are this won’t be as good as the one you’ve created, so you must ensure that your own title tag is completely relevant, descriptive, keyword-rich but readable and the right length.
The Meta Description
The description tag is intended to be a short summary of the content found on the web page. While the title tag is very limited, a Meta description gives you a bit more space to tell users what you’re offering, and it’s an opportunity to give them a compelling reason to click through to your page.
When writing Meta descriptions:
- Have unique descriptions for every page on your site.
- Create a compelling description using relevant keywords. Make sure what’s described is what the searcher will get.
- Inspire curiosity. Provide just enough information to explain what the page is about but not so much that it ruins the curiosity factor.
- Include a call to action within your Meta description to give your reader a clear instruction of what action to take and what’s in it for them.
- Keep your Meta descriptions between 150 and 154 characters. If they’re too long, search engines will cut off the extra characters.
Wrapping Up
While title tags and Meta descriptions don’t play a direct role in helping your site rank in search engines, they are critical for user engagement and getting users to click through to your website. So don’t ignore them as they’re the only elements standing between a search result and a visitor.
We can help review your website content to improve search engine visibility. Schedule a discovery call to learn more.