Getting on to the first page of web search results is the ultimate goal for any business carrying out an SEO campaign. But how do you stand out to someone searching and encourage them to click through to your website?

Search engines such as Google pull data from your website to show in search results. Two key elements form the title and description on the results pages. These are the title tag and meta description.

Title tags (also known as page titles or SEO titles) and meta descriptions are two HTML tags that live in a web page header. They tell search engines what a page is about and are one of the first things crawlers look at on a page.

Sistrix, a marketing software company, conducted a large-scale analysis of billions of search results in 2020. Their report found that the first result in Google received clicks from 28.5% of users. This was almost twice as high as the second position, which received 15.7% of clicks. Finally, the website ranked third in the results, receiving 11%.

This data clearly demonstrates the importance of a website ranking highly in the search results with the help of a good title tag and meta description. 

What can you do to receive more attention from people searching for your product or service? Write and optimize title tags and meta descriptions that are unique for each page. Here is an overview of our recommended best practices: 

Include: The meta description offers the best opportunity to encourage someone to click through. The title tag should show your brand's distinct benefits invitingly. It's important to use compelling copy, almost like this is a mini advertisement.

Optimal Length: The optimal length of a title tag is between 50 - 60 characters. Avoid using more than 60 characters, as this will be truncated in some search engines. The ideal meta description length is 180-220 characters for both desktop and mobile. The maximum length on Google is 300 characters. 

Reflect the Page Content: A page's title tag and meta description should accurately reflect the content on the page itself. Your title tags and meta descriptions need to be straightforward. Don't "bait and switch" by telling your visitor it's one topic when, it’s another.

Distinct: This part really can't be emphasized enough. Taking the time to create unique title tags and meta descriptions as it's one of the best ways that you can encourage people to click on your website in search results.

We are here to help with a team of experts on this topic. If you want your business to stand out in search results, fill out the form below to connect.