How to Write Title Tags and Meta Descriptions That Get Clicked
Your title tag and meta description are your ad in Google's results. Here's how to write both so they're accurate, compelling and don't get cut off.
Photo: Solen Feyissa on Unsplash
When your page appears in Google, the searcher sees three things before deciding whether to click: a title, a URL and a short snippet. You control the first and usually influence the third. Rankings get you onto the page. These two tags decide whether anyone actually visits.
What each tag does
The title tag (<title>) is the clickable headline in search results and the text in the browser tab. It's one of the clearest signals of what a page is about.
The meta description (<meta name="description">) is a summary of the page. Google says it isn't a ranking factor, but it's frequently used as the snippet under your title, and a good one increases clicks.
Google may rewrite either one if it thinks something else on the page better matches the search. That's more likely when your tags are missing, vague or stuffed with keywords. Clear, honest tags are the best way to keep yours.
Writing a strong title tag
- Lead with the topic people search for. "Wedding Photography in Jaipur | Studio Name" beats "Studio Name | Capturing Moments Forever".
- Keep it around 30–60 characters. Google truncates by pixel width, not character count, so very long titles end with "…" and lose the important bit.
- Make every page's title unique. Duplicate titles make it hard for Google to tell pages apart.
- Add a reason to choose you, if there's room: a year ("2026 Guide"), a format ("Checklist", "Template"), or a differentiator ("Same-Day Delivery").
- Put your brand at the end, unless your brand is what people search for.
Before and after
- Before:
Services - After:
Commercial Cleaning Services in Pune | BrightOffice - Before:
Blog post 14 - After:
How to Price Freelance Design Work (With a Free Calculator)
Writing a meta description that earns the click
Think of it as a two-line ad.
- Say what the page delivers. What will the reader know, get or be able to do?
- Match the search intent. Someone searching "how to" wants steps. Someone searching "price" wants numbers.
- Include the main phrase naturally. Google bolds words that match the search, which draws the eye.
- Aim for about 120–160 characters. Longer descriptions get cut off, especially on mobile.
- Don't promise what the page doesn't deliver. A misleading snippet gets a click and then a bounce.
Example for a pricing guide:
Typical prices for logo, website and brand identity projects in India, with a simple formula to quote your own design work confidently.
Common mistakes
- The same description on every page. Many site builders do this by default. Write unique ones for your top pages first.
- Keyword stuffing. "Cheap shoes, buy shoes online, best shoes India" reads as spam to people and to Google.
- Leaving them blank. Google will pull a random sentence from the page, often a cookie notice or a navigation label.
Where to start
You don't need to rewrite every page today. Start with the ten pages that get the most impressions in Google Search Console (Performance → Pages). Look for pages with plenty of impressions but a low click-through rate. Those are the titles and descriptions doing the least work.
To check what your tags currently say and whether they're the right length, run any page through our free SEO audit.
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