Page titles and descriptions: what Google shows

Every page on your website has a title and a description that you normally never see on the page itself. The title is the blue headline Google shows in search results and the text on the browser tab; the description is often the grey line or two underneath. Write a different title for each page that says what the page is about, your business name and your town, in about 50 to 60 characters, and a description of one or two plain sentences that tells a searcher why to click.

What they are and where they show

The page title (sometimes called the title tag) is set in your page's settings, not in the text of the page. It appears:

As the clickable headline in Google results.
On the browser tab.
As the default name when someone bookmarks the page or shares the link.

The meta description is a short summary, also set in the page settings. Google often shows it under the title in results, but not always: if Google thinks another sentence from your page answers the search better, it shows that instead. Google sometimes rewrites titles too, usually when a title is missing, very long or repeated across pages.

Neither one guarantees anything about where a page appears. What a good title does is tell Google and the searcher clearly what the page is about, and give the searcher a reason to choose your result over the one next to it.

Where to find them in your website

Every builder puts them in a slightly different place, but you are looking for words like "SEO settings", "SEO title", "search engine listing" or "page title and description". Common locations:

Wix: page menu, then SEO basics.
Squarespace: page settings, then SEO.
WordPress: below the page editor, if an SEO plugin is installed, or in the theme's page settings.
GoDaddy and other builders: page settings, often under "Search engine" or "SEO".

If you cannot find them, search your builder's help pages for "page title". Some builders fill them in automatically from your page name, which often produces titles like "Services" or "Home" for every site using the template.

How to write a page title

A good title for a small-business page usually has three parts:

What the page is about + where + your business name

Home page: "Plumber in Dayton, OH | Ramirez Plumbing & Drain"
A service page: "Water Heater Repair and Replacement in Dayton | Ramirez Plumbing"
About page: "About Ramirez Plumbing, Dayton Plumbers Since 2004"
Contact page: "Contact Ramirez Plumbing, Dayton | Call or Book Online"

Guidelines that help:

Lead with what the page is about. People scan the first few words.
Use the words customers search, not your trade jargon. "AC repair" rather than "HVAC remediation". Keywords for small business explains how to find those words.
Keep it to roughly 50 to 60 characters. Google cuts longer titles off with "...", based on how wide the letters are rather than an exact count. Put the important words first so a cut-off does not lose them.
Make every title different. Ten pages titled "Ramirez Plumbing" tell Google nothing about which page is which.
Do not cram in towns and services. "Plumber Dayton Kettering Centerville Beavercreek Plumbing Drain Sewer" reads as spam to customers and to Google.

Title examples for other trades

Bakery home page: "Custom Cakes and Fresh Bread in Asheville | Rise Bakery"
Dentist service page: "Teeth Cleaning and Checkups in Mesa, AZ | Desert Family Dental"
Landscaper service page: "Lawn Care and Mowing in Lexington, KY | Bluegrass Yard Co."
Salon: "Hair Color and Highlights in Boise | Studio Nine Salon"

How to write a meta description

The description is your two-sentence pitch to someone looking at a list of results. It does not need keywords stuffed in. It needs a reason to click.

Say what the page offers and one fact that sets you apart: "Water heater repair and same-day replacement in Dayton. Written price before we start, and we haul the old tank away."
Aim for about 120 to 155 characters. Longer descriptions get cut off, especially on phones.
Include a next step if it fits: "Call or book online."
Write a different one for each page. If you cannot think of a separate description for a page, the page itself may need more to say.
Do not promise what you cannot deliver. "Cheapest in Ohio" invites disappointment.

Description examples

Home page: "Family-run plumbers serving Dayton and nearby towns since 2004. Leaks, drains, water heaters and remodels. Call for a same-day visit."
Bakery: "Custom birthday and wedding cakes, sourdough and pastries baked daily in downtown Asheville. Order a cake online or stop by from 7 a.m."
Dentist: "Gentle cleanings, checkups and fillings for the whole family in Mesa. New patients welcome, most insurance accepted, evening hours twice a week."

Mistakes to look for on an existing site

The same title on every page, often just the business name.
"Home" or "Untitled" as the title.
Titles left over from a template: "My Site", "Business Name", a template designer's name.
Empty descriptions, so Google picks random text from the page.
The wrong town, after a move.
A title that does not match the page, like a service page titled with the home page's title.

Titles and descriptions when you change websites

When you move to a new website, the old titles and descriptions are easy to lose, because they are hidden in settings rather than on the page. Before you switch, copy the title and description of each important page into a document. If a page brought you customers from Google, keep its title close to what it was on the new site, at least at first, and change it later if you have a reason.

A quick routine for your whole site

List every page on your site.
Search site:yourdomain.com on Google to see the titles and descriptions as Google shows them now.
For each page, write a title of about 55 characters and a description of about 140, in a simple table.
Paste them into each page's settings.
Check again in a few weeks; Google needs to revisit the pages before the changes appear.

Pages that cover nearly the same thing will struggle to get distinct titles, which is a sign they could be merged. Duplicate content on small business websites explains when that matters.

What to do this week

Search your business name and write down what your result looks like.
Run a site: search and note any page titled "Home", repeated or wrong.
Rewrite the titles of your home page and your three most important service pages.
Write a description for each of those four pages.
Save a copy of all titles and descriptions in a document, for the day you change websites.

If your site's builder makes these settings hard to reach, or every page shares one title, you can see your site rebuilt first with a separate title and description written for each page.