What the meta title and meta description do
The meta title sits in the page's title element. Google mainly uses it for the clickable headline in search results. The meta description is a suggestion for the text beneath that headline. Neither appears on the page itself.
Google builds the title link and snippet itself and can take the text from elsewhere. That may be the page's H1, other headings, the text of links pointing to the page or the content itself. The snippet usually comes from the page's content, and the meta description is used when it describes the page better. Your job is to make it easy for Google to pick your own text.
The meta title is also not the same as the H1. The H1 is the heading the shopper sees on the page. They can be similar, but the title must stand on its own in a list of other results.
| Field | Where it shows | What it should do |
|---|---|---|
| Meta title | As the headline in search results and in the browser tab | Say exactly what the page is. |
| Meta description | Sometimes as the text beneath the headline | Give the shopper a reason to click. |
| H1 | At the top of the page itself | Confirm that the shopper has landed in the right place. |
How long should they be
Google sets no fixed limit for titles or descriptions. They are simply cut off when there is no room on the screen. So the first words matter most. Shopify recommends about 60 characters for the title and 160 for the description. That is a good rule of thumb on any platform.
The width depends on the letters and the screen, not only on the number of characters. A W takes up more space than an i. Use the lengths as a ceiling and put the most important part first. Then it does not matter if the end disappears.
Your store's name should appear only once, at the start or the end. Many platforms add it automatically, so check that it is not there twice.
How to write them for each type of page
Searches differ on the home page, a category and a product, so the titles should too. The examples are made up and come from a lighting store. “Store name” stands for your own name.
| Page | Shoppers typically search | Example meta title | Example meta description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home page | The store's name or a broad category | Store name, lamps and lighting for the home | Pendants, floor lamps and table lamps from Nordic designers. Free delivery over ÂŁ50 and 30 days to return. |
| Category | A range (“dining table pendant lights”) | Pendant lights for the dining table in brass, glass and wood | Filter by diameter, material and light colour, and find the pendant that suits the length of your table. |
| Product | One specific item (“oak pendant 40 cm”) | Oak pendant light, 40 cm, E27 fitting | Solid oak pendant, 40 cm in diameter with an E27 fitting. Bulb not included. In stock and shipped within two working days. |
| Guide | A question (“how high to hang a pendant”) | How high to hang a pendant over a dining table | The measurements that suit your table and ceiling height, and how to hang several pendants over a long table. |
Use product data instead of adjectives
A good product title is mostly facts. Brand, product type, model, material, size and colour are the words shoppers use when they know what they want. Words like “beautiful”, “stylish” and “high quality” tell neither Google nor the shopper anything.
In the description you can gather what is otherwise scattered across the page. Google itself mentions price, manufacturer and other product details as examples. Add what makes the choice easier, such as delivery, returns or whether the item is in stock. Only write what the page also says, and keep it up to date.
Do not repeat the same keyword several times. Google says it adds nothing, and a description that is a list of keywords is less likely to be shown as the snippet. The meta keywords tag is not used by Google at all.
Use a template when you have many products
A store with a thousand products cannot write every title by hand. Google says automatically generated descriptions can be a good solution on large, data-driven sites, as long as they read well and differ from page to page.
Build the title from fields you already have in your product data. Make sure every field is filled in, so you do not end up with half titles. Google names half-empty titles as one of the reasons it rewrites them.
Product title
{Product type} in {material}, {size}, {key feature}. For example “Oak pendant light, 40 cm, E27 fitting”.
Category title
{Category} {for whom or what}. For example “Pendant lights for the dining table”.
Description
{What the item is and its key feature}. {A detail shoppers choose by}. {Delivery or returns}.
Exceptions
Write the title by hand on the pages that matter most, such as your biggest categories and best-selling products. The template is for the rest.
When Google rewrites your title
Google does not always show the title you wrote. That is usually a sign the title does not fit the page. These are the reasons Google gives itself.
Half-empty title
Part of the title is missing, for example when a template field is empty and only the store name is left.
Out-of-date title
The title says something different from the page, such as an old year or a campaign that has ended.
The same title on many pages
Several pages have nearly the same title, so they are hard to tell apart. This often happens with variants and paginated categories.
The wrong language
The title is in a different language from the page. Write titles in the language of the page.
No clear main heading
The page has several headings that look equally important, so it is unclear which one is the page's title.
See whether more people click
In Search Console's Performance report you can see impressions, clicks, click-through rate and average position for each page and search. Pick pages with many impressions and a low click-through rate for their position. That is where a better title has the most to give.
Note the date when you change the title, and compare the same number of weeks before and after. Click-through rate also depends on position, season and whatever else is in the results. So look at several pages before you draw a conclusion.
Frequently asked questions
Should the keyword come first in the title?
The most important part should come first, because the end may be cut off. Usually that is what the shopper searches for, such as the product type. It still has to read naturally. A title written for the search engine rather than the shopper rarely earns the click.
Does the meta description help rankings?
Google has not said that the meta description affects rankings. It can affect whether the shopper clicks, because it may be shown as the snippet. So use it to describe the page precisely.
Should the meta title and H1 be the same?
They can be similar, but they do different jobs. The title has to stand out in a list of results and can include your store's name. The H1 only has to confirm what the page is to someone who is already on it.