How to Write Title Tags and Meta Descriptions That Get Clicks

The title and description are usually the first thing a searcher reads about your page, often before they know your business exists. A clear title and an honest description will not lift a weak page, but a vague or truncated one can stop a good page from being clicked. This guide covers what each element does, how to write them, and how to check whether a change helped.

What titles and descriptions actually do

The title element (<title>) names the page. Google uses it as a strong hint for the clickable headline in search results, and browsers show it in the tab. The meta description (<meta name="description">) is a short summary. Google does not use it as a ranking factor, but often shows it as the snippet under the headline.

Google may rewrite either one when it thinks another piece of text on the page describes it better for a specific query. Its documentation on title links and snippets explains when that happens. Rewrites are most common when titles are generic, repeated across pages or stuffed with keywords.

How to write a title that works

1. Lead with what the page is about, in the words a customer would search. “Boiler Repair in Leeds” beats “Welcome to Our Services”.
2. Make every title unique. If ten pages share “Home | Example Plumbing”, Google cannot tell them apart.
3. Add your brand at the end, separated by a dash or pipe, unless the page is your homepage.
4. Aim for roughly 50–60 characters so the main message is not cut off on mobile. This is a guideline, not a rule; Google truncates by pixel width.
5. Do not repeat the same keyword. “Plumber, Plumbing, Plumbers Leeds” reads as spam and is likely to be rewritten.

How to write a meta description

• Summarize what the visitor will get, in one or two sentences (roughly 120–160 characters).
• Include a specific detail: a service area, a price range you actually publish, a product type, a format (“checklist”, “template”).
• Write a different description for every important page. If you cannot, leaving it empty is better than copying one everywhere; Google will generate a snippet from the page.
• Do not promise what the page does not deliver. A mismatch increases quick returns to the results page.

Before-and-after examples

These are illustrative examples, not real client pages.

Description example for the boiler page: “Same-day boiler repair across Leeds and nearby towns. Gas Safe registered engineers, upfront quotes before any work starts.” Every claim in it must be true for the business.

Where to edit them

• WordPress: the SEO section of your page editor if you use an SEO plugin, otherwise the page title setting.
• Shopify: “Search engine listing” at the bottom of each product, collection or page.
• Wix and Squarespace: the page’s SEO settings panel.
• Custom sites: the <title> and <meta name="description"> tags in each page’s <head>.

Common problems and fixes

• Google shows a different headline. Check that your H1 and title agree, remove keyword repetition and make the title more specific.
• Duplicate titles across many pages. Usually caused by a template. Fix the template so each page uses its own name.
• Title cut off. Move the most important words to the front and the brand to the end.
• Description ignored. Google picks text that better matches the query. Make sure the first paragraph of the page is also a clear summary.

Measure the change

In Google Search Console, open Performance, filter by the page and compare clicks and CTR for the same queries over equal periods before and after the change. Allow a few weeks for Google to recrawl and for enough data to build up. Our guide to reading the Performance report shows how. Only change one page group at a time so you can tell what made the difference.

If the page is not appearing at all, start with the indexing checklist first; titles only matter once Google can show the page.