Write a compelling title tag

Title tags are often the main piece of information used to decide which result to click on. This is why you need to make them compelling. Here are a few tips:

• Keep them short. Under 70 characters is best to avoid truncation.
• Match search intent. Tell searchers you have what they want.
• Be descriptive. Don’t be vague or generic.
• Don’t clickbait. Make sure they align with your content.
• Include the keyword. Use a close variation if it makes more sense.
• Include the year. For topics that demand freshness.

You should set a title tag on every indexable page. If you like, you can use refs’ Site Audit to find pages with title tag issues like being empty or too long. All you need is a free AWT account. Once you’ve signed up and crawled your site, go to the Content report to check for issues.

Write a compelling meta description

Meta descriptions aren’t a ranking factor, but can bring more clicks and traffic. This is because Google often uses them for the descriptive snippet in the search results. Here are a few tips for writing them:

• Keep them short. Under 160 characters is best to avoid truncation.
• Expand on the title tag. Include USPs that you couldn’t fit there.
• Match search intent. Double down on what searchers want.
• Use an active voice. Address the searcher directly.
• Include your keyword. Google often bolds this in the results.

You can use refs’ Site Audit to check for pages with meta description issues like being empty or too long. Once again, you’ll need a free AWT account to do this. Once you’ve signed up and crawled your site, go to the Content report to check for issues.