Page titles & meta descriptions

How to write the two most important SEO fields on every page — the title that appears in search results and the description below it.

When your website appears in Google search results, two pieces of text are shown: the page title (the blue clickable link) and the meta description (the short paragraph below it). These are your first impression on a potential visitor.

This guide explains what they are, how to write good ones, and where to edit them.

Quick summary

Your page title is often the main thing a searcher uses to decide whether to click your result. Make it unique to the page, clear, and specific, and put the important words first — Google shortens long titles to fit the screen. Your meta description is a summary Google may show under the title; keep it to a sentence or two that describes what the visitor will find.

What is a page title?

The page title (technically called a "title tag") is the text that appears as the clickable heading in Google search results — Google's own name for that heading is the "title link". It also appears in the browser tab when someone has your page open.

It's separate from the heading visible on the page itself — though they are often similar.

Google is direct about why the title matters: title links are "often the primary piece of information people use to decide which result to click". Google doesn't take the title tag as the final word, though — it looks at several sources, including your main visible heading and other prominent text, and it can generate a different title link if it finds a problem with yours.

How to write a good page title

A strong page title follows these principles:

Lead with the words that matter. Long titles get shortened in search results, so don't bury the point at the end.
Be specific and descriptive. Tell people exactly what they'll find, and avoid vague titles — Google names "Home" as an example to avoid.
Include your business name if it fits. Google suggests putting just your site name at the beginning or end, separated with a delimiter such as a hyphen, colon or pipe: Keyword-rich description | Business Name.
Don't repeat keywords. Google calls that keyword stuffing, and says it can make your results look spammy.
Watch the length. There's no limit on how long a title can be, but Google truncates the title link in search results as needed, typically to fit the device width. Under about 60 characters is a common rule of thumb, and it's the figure Webflow's own docs give.
Make every page title unique. Google's own description of a good title starts with "unique to the page".

Examples

Page	Weak title	Strong title
Homepage	"Welcome"	"Organic Skin Care Products — Delivered to Your Door \| Bloom"
Service page	"Services"	"Brand Identity Design for Small Businesses \| Chykalophia"
Blog post	"Tips for Healthy Skin"	"10 Dermatologist Tips for Dry Winter Skin"

What is a meta description?

The meta description is a short summary you write for the page. It's one source for the paragraph of text — the "snippet" — shown under your page title in search results. It's your chance to tell searchers what they'll find on the page and why they should click.

Google builds snippets mainly from the page's own content. It says it "sometimes uses the meta description HTML element if it might give users a more accurate description of the page than content taken directly from the page". So treat the description as your pitch for the click, not as a ranking lever.

How to write a good meta description

Summarize what the page offers in plain, clear language, and include its most relevant points.
Write it for this page only. Google's description of a good meta description is "short, unique to one particular page".
Keep it to a sentence or two. Google describes a meta description as "typically a succinct, one- or two-sentence summary of the page". There's no character limit, but the snippet is truncated in search results as needed, typically to fit the device width.
Write plain sentences, not a list of keywords — Google says descriptions made of long strings of keywords are less likely to be shown as a snippet at all.
Consider adding a call to action where it fits naturally: "Find out how," "Learn more," "See our full range."

Examples

Page	Weak description	Strong description
Service page	"We offer design services."	"We create brand identities that help small businesses look established and attract better clients. See our portfolio."
Blog post	"Skin care tips."	"Dry winter skin? Follow these 10 tips from dermatologists to keep your skin healthy and hydrated through the cold months."

Where to edit page titles and meta descriptions

WordPress core has no meta description field, so this comes from an SEO plugin. In Yoast SEO, open the Yoast SEO sidebar on the page you're editing, open Search appearance, and edit the SEO title and meta description there. In Rank Math, open its General tab and click Edit Snippet to fill in the same two fields; in the classic editor, scroll down the edit screen to the Rank Math box. Fill them in for every page.

Don't leave these blank

If you don't write a meta description, Google builds the snippet from your page content instead. It isn't random — snippets are "designed to emphasize and preview the page content that best relates to a user's specific search" — but you don't get a say in which words it picks, and the result is often off-message. Write a custom description.

Common questions

Does Google always show my meta description?

No. Google creates snippets automatically from page content, and it may show different snippets for different searches — your description is used when Google thinks it describes the page better. Webflow's help puts it the same way: Google "will sometimes display snippets of body text from your page if that text better matches what Google believes is the search query intent." This is normal. Still write a good description — it's always better to have one than not.

Can I use the same title and description on every page?

No. Google's guidance is that a good title is unique to the page and a good description is unique to one particular page, and repeated boilerplate makes your search results look unhelpful. Webflow says the same of its own SEO fields: unique titles and descriptions for each page are the point. Every page should have its own.

Should my page title match the H1 heading on the page?

They can be similar, but they don't have to be identical. Your title tag is optimized for search results; your H1 heading is for readers on the page. Often they're close — but you might write the title tag to include your brand name, while the H1 is shorter.

What if my title is too long?

There's no hard limit, but Google truncates the title link in search results as needed — typically to fit the width of the device someone is searching on. So the same title can be cut in a different place on a phone than on a desktop. Put the important words at the front, and keep the title short enough that it reads properly when the tail is missing.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.

Page titles & meta descriptions

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