How to write clickable SEO title and meta description tags

And have a little fun with them while you’re at it!

If you haven’t already read my blog on what an SEO title and meta description tag is, you should have a quick read first.

The importance of meta tags is often overlooked by business owners. Many don’t understand how they work and how to write them so both humans and Google love them.

It’s also super important to know that you need different tags for every page of your website. No page should be the same.

The great news is, you can use different keywords for each page title and meta description to rank for a variety of terms on Google, or you can keep targeting one keyword (or key phrase) by re-jigging your tags.

Let’s run through the best practices for writing your SEO title and description tags.

How to write an SEO title tag

You need to stick to around 60 characters for your title tag. Yoast is a great plugin to help you find an optimal length.

Personally, I write all of mine in Word and do a character check. It’s a great way to belt a few out and save them all in one place so you can test which ones work.

Here are some tips:

1. Know the keywords you want to target for each page
2. Put your keywords at the start of your title tag (where possible) as people usually scan results and read the first couple of words
3. Understand that some characters take up more space than others so may cut off your full title (e.g. W is wider than i)
4. Avoid all capitals
5. To separate words, use the pipe symbol (|)
6. Don’t stuff it with keywords (e.g. Best copywriter, Melbourne copywriter, Business copywriter, SEO copywriter)
7. Make an effort to create your tags and don’t settle for defaults – no one will want to click on a page called ‘home’ (if you even manage to rank)
8. Include local keywords if you’re a service-based business or offering items to your local community

Let’s use an electrician as an example. You want to target your local audience (makes sense hey!). What would you Google to find one?

• Electrician servicing Grantville and surrounds (48)
• Grantville Electrician | Emergencies, household and commercial (64)
• Emergency Electrician in Grantville – faults and installations (64)

You can also make some of them focus on certain services your clients would be searching for:

• Fan/air conditioning, light installation | Grantville Electrician (67)
• Electrical lighting repairs and installation | Grantville Electrician (71)

How to write an SEO meta description tag

As with your title tags, the Yoast plugin is a good way to see if your description is an optimal length. It is recommended that you keep to around 160 characters.

Again, I write a few in my Word document to test them out.

Here are some tips:

1. Use the description as a ‘sales pitch’ for your business – but don’t be too sleazy
2. Use words your clients would relate to (solve their issue etc.) so they are more likely to click on your link
3. Make them engaging as although they don’t directly affect Google rankings, they will determine your ‘click-through rate’ which Google does rank
4. Ensure they make sense within the first 100+ characters so they display well on mobiles
5. Use keywords you’re targeting for the page
6. Write with a natural, active, non-spammy tone
7. Ensure the content on the page matches the search result and tags

Let’s use an electrician as an example again.

• Call Monstar Electricians in Grantville for all emergencies, installations and repairs | Lights, air conditioners, fans, ovens and more | 0400 000 000 (152)
• Need an electrician to install your downlights, air conditioner, outdoor lighting, remote garage door or oven? Call Monstar Electricians in Grantville on 0400 000 000 (168)
• For all your electrical needs, call Monstar Electricians in Grantville. Lights, air conditioners, remote garages, ovens and much more. Call 0400 000 000 (154)
• House wiring issues? Before you go crawling in spider lined roof spaces, give Monstar Electricians in Grantville a call on 0400 000 000 (137)

Do you need some help with your SEO tags?

If you’d like a review or a hand with your SEO tags to get your website ranking better, please get in touch.