What Are Meta Titles and Descriptions? SEO Guide Must Know 10 Rules

Many people who are conducting a website health check for the first time or are new to SEO may not know what Meta Title and Meta Description are. Therefore, you usually use the site: search operator first to let people take a look at your official website and its appearance in Google search results. It is presented all at once, and it is explained that this is what your customers will see when searching. Often people will find the problem themselves. Usually, each one looks the same. The Meta Title (webpage title) is filled with a long company name, and the short part is the category of each page, such as Products, Contact Us, News, etc. Meta Description (web page summary, also translated as meta description) is also often not written, and is the same for every page, or is filled with keywords. So if they all look the same or are not written well, what impact does it have on SEO? How to write it? Let us take a closer look. The content also contains complete instructions and examples written for B2B and cross-border e-commerce.

The impact of web page titles and web page summaries on SEO

First of all, these two will be a combination, written in our HTML source code, which will not be seen directly on our web page. You have to view the source code to see it. Mainly displayed on Google search engine results pages (SERPs). Although not a direct ranking factor, it is still very important for SEO. Your search page will be exposed (Impression) together with other competitors. As for whether users will click on your web page, it depends on whether the Meta Title and Description of your web page are attractive, and this part will affect our click-through rate (CTR).

What happens if it’s repetitive or not written well?

When you don’t write Meta Title, Description, or repeat it on every page, or fill it with keywords, and don’t describe the content of the page well, Google will use algorithms to regenerate and rewrite it for you. Sometimes it’s better, but sometimes it’s tragic. I have seen a manufacturer’s web page title changed to an incomprehensible “1/2”. So in order to avoid such a situation, we should try our best to write it well. If you have already rewritten it, it is recommended that you resubmit it to Google Search Console and request Google to re-index it, which will take about a week. Here are some suggested rules for writing:

Meta Title Writing Rules

A good web page title can increase our click-through rate (CTR). The following mainly takes export and cross-border e-commerce as examples.

1. Length: 50-60 characters , including spaces and symbols. Note: “Character” is written here, not “word”. One letter in English is one character, while one word in Chinese is two characters. It is also similar to the concepts of half-shape and full-shape.
2. Keyword layout : important keywords should be placed in front, and secondary keywords in the back
3. Brand or company name: If the company name is not the main keyword, put it at the end. The suggestion is probably to write it like this
   Primary Keyword, Secondary Keyword – Brand Name
4. Unique on each page : The meta title of each page cannot be repeated. Remember that duplication is a taboo in SEO optimization. You can refer to our other article: The impact of “duplicate content” on SEO x The ultimate solution
5. Relevance: Meta Title should be relevant to the content of the page
6. Don’t “stack” keywords : Stuffing keywords will be modified by Google.
7. Added benefits –  is it the most up to date guide? The latest model of the product? A unique solution to a problem?
8. Insert powerful words : such as “Best,” “Affordable,” “Fast,” and “Extra”
9. Add modifiers: such as “Top 10”, “2024 Updated”, and “Best-value”
10. Please use title case for English : Title case is more eye-catching. Conjunctions, articles, definite articles, etc. are not capitalized, for example, and, of, the, a, on, in

Meta Title Examples

• Men’s Waterproof Hiking Shoes | Light & Durable
• Ergonomic Office Chair | Adjustable | Free Shipping
• Organic Baby Clothes | Eco-Friendly | SG Made
• Premium Functional Sportswear Supplier – Signal Sportswear
• Reliable Plastic Sport Training Equipment Manufacturer – DQ
• The 10 Best Day Trips from Florence – Lonely Planet

Meta Description Writing Rules

Please write from the buyer’s perspective. If you are a B2B company, it is recommended that you add words such as Manufacturer, Supplier, OEM, etc. to differentiate yourself from to C users who are looking for general products. The following mainly takes export and cross-border e-commerce as examples, and uses English as the case, because we are more proficient in writing Chinese, but most people do not know how to write in English.

1. Length: 150-160 characters , including spaces and symbols. Note: “Character” is written here, not “word”. One letter in English is one character, while one word in Chinese is two characters. It is also similar to the concepts of half-shape and full-shape.
2. Keyword layout : Add important keywords and put them first.
3. Unique per page : Do not repeat the meta description for each page. Remember that duplication is a taboo in SEO optimization. You can refer to our other article: The impact of “duplicate content” on SEO x The ultimate solution
4. Relevance: Meta Description should be relevant to the content of the page
5. Don’t “stuff” keywords : Simply stuffing keywords does not accurately describe the content of the page.
6. Stand in the buyer’s shoes : The copy is written for potential buyers, so please think about “buyers’ needs” and “why they should buy from you”
7. Use trigger words: Get, Try, Learn, Grow, Exclusive, Limited time, Secrets, Special offer, Urgent, Last chance, Hurry, Free, Guarantee, etc.
8. Include unique selling points: Best, Certified, 1-hour emergency service, Free estimates, Lifetime Warranty, etc.
9. Finally , add CTA (Call to Action) : Contact us now, Call now, Learn more, Find out, See how, Order now, Buy now, Get inquiry today, etc.
10. Please use sentence case for English: Because it is a sentence, it is easier to read by using sentence case.

Meta Description Examples

• Boost your math grades with our primary math tuition in Taipei. Learn from experienced tutors. Sign up for a trial lesson today!
• Brighten someone’s day with our fresh flower bouquets. Perfect for birthdays, weddings, or surprise gifts in Taipei. Order now for same-day delivery!
• Secure your loved ones with our comprehensive life insurance plans in Taiwan. Affordable rates, customisable coverage. Get a free quote today!
• Discover our adjustable dog hurdle set, designed for dog agility training. Ideal for jump & agility training. Contact us for bulk orders & worldwide delivery!

How to add Meta Title and Meta Description to the page?

If your website is built using a CMS platform such as WordPress or Wix, it is usually easy to add it in the backend. Many WordPress SEO plugins, even free versions, provide options to modify the Meta Title and Description of each page, such as the well-known Yoast SEO, All in One SEO and Rank Math SEO plugins. The Wix backend also allows you to directly modify the Meta Title and Description on each page. If your website is designed and produced directly by a design company, then you need to confirm with the design company whether “every page” in the background has a column for modifying the Meta Title and Description, including all your product list pages. I have checked before and found that some website designs only provide fields for setting Meta Title and Meta Description on the homepage, which makes it impossible to optimize SEO properly. Google’s official writing suggestions are also provided here .

The Meta for each page must be written differently. Everyone will find it difficult to revise it after racking their brains, especially for English pages, which are even more challenging to write. Then, we can use the free GPT-4 tool to help with quick modifications. You can refer to this article: How to use GPT-4 to optimize SEO for free