The Power of Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. What is Metadata?
3. Importance of Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
4. What is a Page Title?
5. Examples of Good Page Titles
6. Examples of Bad Page Titles
7. What are Meta Descriptions?
8. Examples of Good Meta Descriptions
9. Examples of Bad Meta Descriptions
10. Perfect Length for Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
11. Prioritizing Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
12. Adding Page Titles and Meta Descriptions to Your Site
13. OG Titles and Descriptions
14. Reasons Why Google May Not Use Your Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
15. Conclusion

👉 What is Metadata?

Metadata is essentially data that is written into the code or behind the scenes of your website, providing additional information to software that utilizes your website. Just like how metadata attached to a photo can tell your computer where it was taken, metadata attached to your website helps software understand what your website is about. When it comes to digital marketing, the two most important pieces of metadata are page titles and meta descriptions.

👉 Importance of Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

Page titles and meta descriptions play a crucial role in helping your website perform well in search results. They are the first things that users see when browsing through search engine results pages. A well-crafted page title can catch users' attention and improve your website's click-through rate, while a compelling meta description can entice users to visit your site. Although meta descriptions don't directly influence ranking, they indirectly affect it by increasing click-through rates, which can lead to improved rankings over time.

👉 What is a Page Title?

A page title, also known as a title tag, is the title of a page that is chosen by the website owner. It is the title that Google usually displays in search results. When users scroll through search results, the blue text at the top of each result is typically the page title. Additionally, the page title is visible in browser tabs when multiple tabs are open. It is important to include your target keyword in the page title as well as any unique selling propositions (USPs) or clear benefit themes that differentiate your website from competitors.

Examples of Good Page Titles

• "Buy Luxury Watches online - 24 Month Warranty, Chrononext"
• "100% Cotton Baby Blankets and Swaddles You'll Love"
• "Emergency Dentist in Edinburgh"

Examples of Bad Page Titles

• "UK Specialist Watches"
• "Baby blankets, Boots"
• "Hyde Associates, Home"

👉 What are Meta Descriptions?

Meta descriptions are the snippet of text that you provide to Google to display in the description section of your website when it appears in search results. While Google does not directly analyze meta descriptions for keywords, they serve the important purpose of improving your click-through rate. A well-crafted meta description can compel users to click on your website, leading to increased traffic and potential improvement in rankings over time.

Examples of Good Meta Descriptions

• "Buy and sell luxury preowned watches at Crown & Calibre. We're the premier buyer and seller of used luxury watches including Rolex, Cartier, and Omega."
• "Buy 100% cotton baby blankets and swaddles online. Free UK delivery over £40. Great selection, excellent customer service. Find everything for a..."

Examples of Bad Meta Descriptions

• "We use cookies to improve your experience and help us understand how we can make it better. Some of these are essential to make this site work."
• "Other options, cotton plaid, cotton voile, machine wash, patchwork, pick stitch, ruffle, solid."

👉 Perfect Length for Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

Page titles are typically truncated around 600 pixels, which translates to around 55 to 70 characters. It is recommended to aim for a page title length of around 60 characters to ensure that the full title is displayed. On the other hand, meta descriptions can vary widely in length. While Google had previously extended the limit to 320 characters, it later reverted back to a range of 120 to 155 characters. Keeping meta descriptions within this range helps to prevent truncation and gives you control over what is seen by visitors in search results.

👉 Prioritizing Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

When optimizing page titles and meta descriptions, it is important to prioritize the most important ones first. Start with the main static pages of your site, such as the homepage, product page, and services pages that are most likely to rank. For e-commerce businesses with a large number of pages, begin with your product category pages before moving on to individual product pages. You can use tools like Google Search Console or Google Analytics to identify your top search landing pages and focus on optimizing those first. However, keep in mind that pages with poorly optimized page titles and meta descriptions may not be ranking well and may not be receiving much traffic.

👉Adding Page Titles and Meta Descriptions to Your Site

For most businesses, adding page titles and meta descriptions can be done through a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress, Shopify, or Magento. These platforms often have plugins, extensions, or built-in functionality where you can input your text, which will then generate the necessary code for page titles and meta descriptions. Additionally, don't forget to optimize your social page titles and meta descriptions, which are used when your site is shared on platforms like Facebook. You can use the same page titles and meta descriptions as your Open Graph titles and descriptions, or you can customize them further to enhance their effectiveness.

👉 Reasons Why Google May Not Use Your Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

There are several reasons why Google may not use the page titles and meta descriptions you have provided. One common reason is that Google may choose to overwrite them with different content to improve relevance or to conduct split testing using machine learning. If your page titles and meta descriptions are stuffed with excessive keywords and appear spammy, Google may completely ignore them and opt to display content from the page instead. Additionally, if Google has not re-crawled your page since its last update, the changes may not immediately be reflected in search results. To speed up the process, you can manually request Google to re-crawl the page using Google Search Console.

👉 Conclusion

In conclusion, metadata, including page titles and meta descriptions, is essential for conveying important information about your website to search engines and users. Page titles directly impact how your website is shown in search results, while meta descriptions influence click-through rates. By using target keywords, incorporating USPs, and crafting compelling page titles and meta descriptions, you can improve your website's visibility, attract more visitors, and potentially enhance your rankings in search engine results.

Resources:

• Exposure Ninja