Every page on your website has a title tag and, usually, a meta description. Together they form the little listing people see in Google’s results: a clickable headline and a couple of lines underneath. It’s your shop window in search, and on many small business sites it’s either left blank, auto-filled with something unhelpful, or copied across every page.
Fixing them is one of the quickest, cheapest SEO jobs there is. You don’t need a developer, just your website’s editor or SEO plugin and an hour or two of clear thinking.
Here’s how to write them properly, and what to expect from Google once you have.
What each one does
The title tag is the page’s official name. Google uses it as a strong clue to what the page is about, and it’s usually shown as the headline of your search listing. It also appears in browser tabs and when pages are shared on some platforms.
The meta description is a short summary of the page. Google has said it isn’t used as a ranking factor, but it’s often shown under your title, so it affects whether people choose your result over the one above or below it.
One thing to know up front: Google doesn’t always use what you write. It sometimes rewrites titles and frequently picks a different snippet from the page if it thinks that better matches the search. That’s not a reason to skip them. Well-written tags are more likely to be used, and they give Google a clear steer either way.
How to write a good title tag
- Lead with what the page is. Put the service or topic first, in the words customers search with. “Boiler Installation in Wirral” beats “Welcome to Our Website”.
- Add location where it matters. For local service pages, include the town or area you’re targeting, once.
- Finish with your brand. Adding your business name at the end, after a separator, helps recognition. On your homepage it can go first.
- Keep it reasonably short. There’s no fixed character limit, but long titles get cut off on screen. Aim for roughly 50 to 60 characters and put the important words first so a cut-off doesn’t matter.
- Make every one unique. Each page should have its own title that describes that page. Duplicate titles make it harder for Google and searchers to tell pages apart.
- Don’t stuff it. “Plumber Liverpool, Plumbers Liverpool, Emergency Plumber Liverpool” looks spammy to people and is a common trigger for Google rewriting it.
How to write a meta description people click
Think of a meta description as a two-line advert. You’re answering the searcher’s silent question: why this result?
- Say what the page offers, plainly, in the first few words.
- Give a reason to choose you. Something specific and true: same-day callouts, fixed quotes, local team, years in business, accreditations.
- Match the intent. A service page description should point towards booking or getting a quote. A guide’s description should promise the answer.
- Keep it roughly 140 to 160 characters so it’s less likely to be cut short, though Google may show more or less depending on the device.
- Be accurate. Don’t promise offers or prices that aren’t on the page. People who feel misled leave quickly.
Write your title for Google and the searcher, and your description for the searcher alone. The title says what the page is. The description says why they should click it.
Before and after examples
Here’s how a typical service page listing might improve. This is an illustrative example for a roofing firm, not a real business.
Before
Title: Services | Home
Description: (no meta description, so Google pulls a random line from the footer)
After
Title: Roof Repairs in Southport | Local Roofers, Free Inspections
Description: Leaks, slipped tiles and storm damage fixed by a local team. Free inspections, clear written quotes and a guarantee on all work.
The second version tells both Google and the searcher exactly what the page is, where, and why they might pick it. On a real site, you’d usually swap the last part of the title for your business name.
Finding and fixing problems on your site
You don’t need to guess where the problems are. A few ways to find them:
- Search Console. In the Performance report, look at pages with plenty of impressions but a low click-through rate. Those listings are being seen and ignored, which makes them prime candidates for better titles and descriptions.
- Search your own site. Type site:yourdomain.co.uk into Google and scroll through. Duplicate, missing or odd-looking titles stand out quickly.
- Your SEO plugin or a site crawler. Most will list pages with missing, duplicate or overly long titles and descriptions.
Start with your most important pages: homepage, main service pages and anything already getting impressions. Rewrite those first, then work through the rest.
Measuring whether it worked
After you change a title or meta description, it can take days or weeks for Google to recrawl the page and show the update. Note the date you made changes, then compare clicks and click-through rate in Search Console over the following month or two against a similar period before. Rankings and seasonality also move click-through rate, so look for a clear trend rather than reading too much into a single week.
Want them written for you?
Titles and descriptions are small, but they’re where a lot of sites quietly lose clicks. Our SEO content team can rewrite them across your site as part of a wider review, and our SEO service makes sure the pages behind them live up to the promise.
