How to Write Title Tags and Meta Descriptions That Get Clicks

The title tag

The title tag — <title> in the page’s head — is the clickable headline in search results and the text in the browser tab. It is one of the clearest signals of what a page is about, and it is usually the first thing a searcher reads.

How long should they be?

Google cuts titles by pixel width, not characters — roughly 600 pixels on desktop. In practice that is about 50–60 characters; wide letters like W and M use up the space faster than i and l. Descriptions are usually cut at around 150–160 characters on desktop and fewer on mobile.

Don’t count by hand: the SERP Preview shows exactly how your title and description will look and where they’ll be truncated, on desktop and mobile.

A title formula that works

Primary keyword + what makes this page useful + brand. For example:

• Compress PDF Online — Shrink Files Without Uploading | devpack
• Banana Bread Recipe (One Bowl, 10 Minutes Prep) | Sam’s Kitchen

Put the main keyword near the start, since the end may be cut. Make each title unique: two pages with the same title compete with each other and confuse searchers.

The meta description

The description isn’t a ranking factor, but it strongly affects whether people click. Treat it as a short pitch:

• Say what the page gives the reader, in plain words.
• Include the main keyword — Google bolds words that match the search.
• Add a concrete detail: a number, a time, “free”, “no sign-up”.
• Write it as a sentence, not a list of keywords.

Google rewrites descriptions it finds unhelpful, often using text from the page instead. A specific description that matches the page’s content is the best way to keep yours.

Generate and check the tags

The Meta Tag Generator writes the full set — title, description, canonical, robots and social tags — ready to paste into your page or CMS. After publishing, run the Meta Tag Checker on the live URL to confirm the tags are really there; themes and plugins sometimes override what you entered.

Open Graph for social shares

When a link is shared on LinkedIn, Facebook, Slack or WhatsApp, those apps read Open Graph tags, not your meta description. Set at least og:title, og:description and og:image. The image should be 1200 × 630 pixels with the important content away from the edges, since some apps crop it.

Create one with the OG Image Generator and check how the link card will look with the Open Graph Checker.

Common mistakes

• The same title on every page (often the site name only).
• Keyword stuffing: “Cheap Shoes, Buy Shoes, Shoes Online”.
• Titles that promise something the page doesn’t deliver — people bounce back to the results.
• Missing descriptions on important pages, leaving Google to pick random text.