Page Titles and Descriptions That Earn Clicks

On a search results page, your site is reduced to three lines: a title, an address and a short description. Everything you want a stranger to know about the page has to fit there, and it has to be persuasive enough for them to click, among nine or ten other results asking for the same click.

You do not control this entirely. Search engines choose what to show. But you control the raw material, and good raw material makes it far more likely that what appears is accurate and attractive. This guide covers how to write page titles and descriptions that earn clicks honestly.

What they are

The title is the text in the page's title element. It usually appears as the clickable headline in results, in browser tabs and when someone bookmarks or shares the page.

The description is a short summary, set in a meta description element, that search engines may use to build the snippet shown below the title.

Google explains that its systems generate title links and snippets automatically, from page content and other sources, and that they sometimes use the meta description if it describes the page better than the visible text. So the title and description you write are strong suggestions, not commands.

Writing the title

Google's guidance on title links gives practical advice.

Give every page a title

A page with no title, or a placeholder, leaves the engine to guess. Use the title element on every page.

Describe the page, concisely

Avoid vague titles such as "Home" for a home page or "Profile" for a specific person's profile. A good title says what the page is. Compare:

• Weak: "Home"
• Better: "Hartley Bakery: sourdough, cakes and bread in Hartley"

The second says who, what and where.

Put the important words first

Titles can be cut off in results, and people scan the first words. Lead with the subject, and add the brand at the end or start with a separator.

Avoid stuffing

Google warns that keyword stuffing can make results look spammy to people and to the engine. "Bakery Hartley, bakery near me, best bakery Hartley, cheap bakery" is a poor title. Use the words people would search for, once, naturally.

Make each title different

Boilerplate repeated across pages makes it hard to tell them apart. Google recommends distinct titles for each page. A services page, a contact page and a blog post should each have their own.

Brand briefly

Include your business name at the beginning or end, with a delimiter such as a hyphen or a pipe, but do not repeat it more than once or put it on every page in a heavy way. A short brand mention helps recognition and trust.

Match the language and the page

The title should be in the same language as the page, and should match the main heading. Google also advises making the main heading visually prominent as the page's first heading, so that the title and the page agree.

Be honest

The title must describe what the page really contains. A misleading title may earn a click, but the visitor leaves quickly and the engine learns to distrust it.

Writing the description

A description is a short pitch for the page. Google's guidance suggests:

• Make it unique for each page. Do not reuse one description across the site.
• Make it accurate and specific. Give the reader a clear idea of the content.
• Include useful details, such as location, opening hours, specialisms, key products or the kind of information on the page, where relevant.
• Do not stuff keywords. Write a real summary.
• For large, database-driven sites, generating descriptions from page data can be appropriate, provided each is specific to its page.

Aim for one or two sentences. Lead with the most useful information, since it may be cut. Write for the person, not the engine.

A simple formula

For a business page: what it is, where, and one distinguishing fact or reason to click.

• "Independent bakery on Mill Lane in Hartley. Sourdough, seeded loaves and celebration cakes baked daily. Open Tuesday to Sunday."

For a service page: what the service is, who it is for and what happens next.

• "Boiler servicing for homes in Thornby and Hartley. Annual checks by registered engineers. Book online or call for same-week appointments."

For a blog post: the question it answers and what the reader will learn.

• "How to choose a boiler for a small house: sizes, running costs and what to ask an installer before you agree a quote."

Think about what a searcher wants

Different searches have different needs. Someone typing a business name wants the address and hours. Someone asking a question wants an answer. Someone comparing options wants differences. Think about the likely intent of the searches your page should serve, and let the title and description reflect it. A page about opening hours should mention the hours. A page about prices should say what it explains.

Google's guidance on helpful content emphasises writing for people first and giving them what they came for. A description that makes an honest promise, and a page that keeps it, serves that goal.

Make the page worthy of the promise

The best title and description in the world cannot rescue a page that does not deliver. If the description promises opening hours and the page buries them, visitors leave. Check that the first screen of each page matches what the title and description say.

Check what actually appears

After publishing, search for your pages. Look at the titles and snippets shown. If the engine has rewritten them, ask why. It may be that your title was too long, too generic or did not match the page. Or the engine may have chosen a part of the page that suits a particular query better. Search Console, which Google describes as helping you monitor your site's presence in search results, shows the queries that bring visitors, which helps you see whether your titles and descriptions match what people search for.

Review the whole site

A quick audit can improve many pages at once.

1. List your pages with their titles and descriptions. A spreadsheet works.
2. Find duplicates and blanks.
3. Rewrite the most important pages first: home, main services, contact, popular posts.
4. Check lengths against what appears in results.
5. Ask someone to read the list as if they were a searcher and say which they would click.
6. Record the date and review again in six months.

Many website platforms let you edit titles and descriptions in a settings panel, and some generate them automatically from templates. Check the output, and override it where it is poor.

What not to do

• Do not use the same title or description everywhere.
• Do not stuff keywords or locations.
• Do not write clickbait. Exaggeration brings visitors who leave.
• Do not use all capitals or excess symbols.
• Do not include details that go out of date quickly, such as a year or a price, unless you will update them.
• Do not copy competitors' wording.

A worked example

A small accountancy practice has the same title, "Home", on its home page and the default description on every page: "Welcome to our website." The owner gathers her pages and rewrites each.

Home: title "Hartley Accountants: tax, bookkeeping and payroll for small businesses", description "Independent accountants in Hartley helping sole traders and small businesses with tax returns, bookkeeping and payroll. Fixed fee options and a free first call." Services: "Self-assessment tax returns for sole traders | Hartley Accountants", with a description naming the process and deadlines in general terms. Contact: "Contact Hartley Accountants: phone, email and office hours". A blog post title: "What records do sole traders need to keep?" with a description summarising the answer.

Over the following months, Search Console shows more impressions for queries combining her town and services, and click-through improves on the rewritten pages. She keeps a reminder to revisit the list twice a year.

A checklist

• Every page has a title
• Titles are descriptive, distinct and front-loaded
• Brand included briefly
• No stuffing or hype
• Descriptions unique, specific and honest
• Pages deliver what they promise
• Results checked after publishing
• Site-wide audit twice a year

The search page here shows what a clean results list looks like, the categories page shows how listings are titled and described and the submit page starts a listing, whose title and description a business can refine from its account.

Titles for different kinds of page

Different pages need different approaches. A home page title should name the business and what it does in one line, such as the business name followed by its main service and town. A service page should lead with the service, then the place or audience. A product page should name the product and a key attribute. A contact page should say "Contact" and the business name, perhaps with opening hours in the description. An article should use the question or the main idea in plain words. Writing a short template for each type, and filling it in for every page, keeps your titles consistent and distinctive without any extra effort.

Testing what people click

Search Console shows impressions and clicks for your pages and for the queries that brought them. Compare pages with many impressions but few clicks: their titles or descriptions may not be appealing, or may not match what searchers expect. Rewrite one or two, wait a few weeks and compare. Change one thing at a time so that you can tell what helped. Keep a note of what you tried and what happened. Over a few rounds you will learn what your own visitors respond to, which is more reliable than any general rule.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Google show a different title? It may think another text describes the page better for that search. Make your title clear and matching, and it is more likely to be used.

Should I put my phone number in the description? Only if it helps the searcher, and it will be accurate. Many businesses prefer to put it on the page.

Do emoji help? They may not display as intended, and can distract. Plain, clear text is safer.