Title tags and meta descriptions: how to write and check them

The title tag and meta description are the two lines of text most people see before they ever visit your site. They sit in the page's HTML, so they are quick to fix and one of the cheapest SEO improvements you can make.

The title tag

The title is the clickable headline in search results and the text on the browser tab. It should tell a stranger what the page is about, and it should be different on every page.

What works

• Put the main topic of the page first, and your brand name last.
• Write for a person, not a list of keywords.
• Make each page's title unique, so search engines can tell the pages apart.
• Keep it short enough that the important words are not cut off.

What to avoid

• The same title on every page, or a bare "Home" or "Untitled".
• Stuffing in repeated keywords.
• Very long titles where the useful part is hidden after a cut-off.

The meta description

The description is the short summary under the title. It does not directly decide your ranking, but a clear one can help more people choose your result. Treat it as a small advert for the page: say what the visitor gets and why it is worth a click.

• Write one sentence or two that describe the page honestly.
• Include the main topic naturally, without repeating it.
• Give every page its own description rather than copying one across the site.

Where they go in the HTML

<head>
  <title>Blue widgets for small gardens | Example Shop</title>
  <meta name="description" content="Compact blue widgets sized for balconies and small gardens, with free UK delivery.">
</head>

A five-minute check

1. Open your home page and a few key pages, and read each browser tab title.
2. Look for pages that share the same title or description.
3. Look for titles that are missing, or far longer than about 60 characters.
4. Rewrite the worst ones first, starting with the pages that matter most to your business.

Checking page by page gets slow on a bigger site. The free scan below looks at your title and description along with other basic SEO checks, and the sample report shows how a full audit covers duplicates across many pages.