On-Page & Content · 3.14
Titles, Headers, and Meta Descriptions
The headline Google shows for your page, and the short description underneath it — the actual blue-link text and grey summary someone sees on a results page, before they've clicked anything.
Why this matters
The customer’s side
Scanning a page of search results, a vague title like "Home" tells them nothing, while a specific one like "3 Bed Houses for Sale in Colchester" immediately signals relevance — they're far more likely to click the second one, purely from the title alone.
The search engine’s side
Titles rank you directly; meta descriptions only affect the click
Your title is a direct ranking signal, read to understand what the page is about. Your meta description isn't a ranking signal at all — it purely affects whether someone clicks once they see you in the results.
See it happen
Same page, same search. One title makes someone stop scrolling.
Vague
rivingtons.co.uk
Home
Welcome to our website. Browse our properties and get in touch today.
Tells a scanning eye nothing about what’s on the page.
Specific
rivingtons.co.uk/colchester
3 Bed Houses for Sale in Colchester | Rivingtons
Browse 3 bed houses for sale in Colchester, updated daily. Local experts, no fees to buyers.
Signals relevance immediately — before anyone's even clicked.
How to check yours
Method 1 — Crawl your site
shows you exactly what you've written, across every page at once.
- 1.Crawl your site with Screaming Frog.
- 2.Click "Page Titles" and "Meta Description" to export every one.
- 3.Check each includes what the page is about, plus your town.
Method 2 — Check what Google actually shows
Google sometimes rewrites your title or description if it decides something else better matches the page — the crawl only shows what you wrote, not what's actually displayed.
- 1.Google your own business, or search for one of your specific page titles.
- 2.Compare what's actually shown against what you wrote.
How to fix what you find
Anything generic, and Google is showing it as written
rewrite it directly — keep titles under 60 characters.
Google is rewriting your title in the results
this usually means the title doesn't closely match the page's actual heading and content — tighten it so it reflects what's genuinely on the page.
Keeping on top of it
Easy to get right on the first fifty pages and forget on the next fifty — worth checking every time a batch of new pages goes live.
How Reyse handles this
Done With You
we audit and hand you the exact rewrites.
Done For You
we write and maintain these directly, ongoing.