All about title and description tags

Undoubtedly, title and description tags, or Meta, are the two most important aspects of search engine optimization. The title tag is used for ranking by Google and other search engines, while the description tag is not. Since most searches use Google, we will use this search engine in this post.

Title tag

The Title tag is the one you see on top of a web browser when you open a web page. This tells the user what to expect on the web page. But more importantly, the title tag is what you see in the first line of a search result. It is used by Google for ranking purposes by extracting keywords from it. It is, therefore, essential to creating proper titles and inserting appropriate keywords in them. SEO specialists have ascertained through research that keeping keywords at the beginning of the title has maximum effect.

You must ensure that each page on your website has a unique title and that the keywords are appropriate to that page. I often see webmasters' title tags and concentrate on web content. This laziness is unacceptable. You must spend a considerable amount of time creating unique titles for every one of your web pages. You will see for yourself how your website jumps in ranking.

You must ensure the title is at most 66 characters, including spaces. Google will chop off the words that go beyond this limit.

Description tag

I sincerely lament the disappearance of well-crafted, colorful description tags that tell users what to expect on the web page. Truth be told, a description tag can make or break your website. Every search result displays the web page's description, and usually, people tend to click on sites that tell them what to expect. I come across stories that say very little about the content or are too generic. You must understand that though the description tag does not contribute to your Google ranking (the reason why most SEO guys tend to ignore this tag), it is equally important in deciding whether your search listing will be clicked on by the user. As the webmaster, you should remember that first-page ranking alone does not ensure significant traffic to your site. Great title and description tags, together, contribute to your success. I, for one, will click on a link that tells me what lies inside. At least, in this case, nobody likes surprises.

Title and description tags have different purposes. The title tag is significant for Search engine ranking. Here, you must include keywords, preferably at the very beginning. The description tag is not for classification but is essential to tell visitors about the web page they are about to visit. Both the title and description tag have an indispensable role in bringing traffic to a site; thus, neither should be taken lightly.