The #1 Google SERP Preview Tool

Increase your organic CTR by optimizing your Page Title & Meta Description Length

All
Images
Videos
News
Maps
More
About 608,000,000 results (0.54 seconds)
For Example: #1 Digital Marketing Company - Example.com
http://www.example.com
Rating starsRating: 4.1/5 - 112 votes
Dec 1, 2016 - Write your meta description to tell the Google users that you are the best in your industry! Tip: Use natural language rather than keyword stuffing.
All
Images
Videos
News
Maps
More
About 608,000,000 results (0.54 seconds)
For Example: #1 Digital Marketing Company - Example.com
http://www.example.com
Rating starsRating: 4.1/5 - 112 votes
Dec 1, 2016 - Write your meta description to tell the Google users that you are the best in your industry! Tip: Use natural language rather than keyword stuffing.

Just enter your title tag and meta description to see your website's SERP snippet preview above.

Page Title

Characters: 0 and Pixels: 0

Meta Description

Characters: 0 and Pixels: 0

Page URL
Bolded Keywords
Show Rating
Show Date
Options
Standard View
Image Rich Snippet
Video Rich Snippet
If there’s a single thing you can do right now to boost your search ranking, it’s to optimise the meta tags of your content.

It could only take you minutes to optimise the meta tags for a single webpage, but the act of doing so has far-reaching effects.

What are Meta Tags

Meta tags are HTML elements of a webpage that highlights the title and description of the content explicitly.

They provide preliminary information on what the underlying content is all about on the search results.

On the HTML code, meta title and description are tagged <title> by and <meta name =”description”> respectively.

Why are Title Tags Important for SEO?

Title tags or meta title, helps search engine crawlers to understand the content of the webpage. It also helps in creating a good first impression with the users and increases the click-through rate.

You’ll find title tags appearing on the search results pages, browser tabs, and social networks.
Here’s how it looks like on Google search.
When you click into the page, you’ll find the meta title on the browser tab.
The meta title is also visible when you share the article on social media.

Meta Title Character Limit

You may be tempted to craft a lengthy headline.

Don’t.

There’s a limit to the length of the meta title that is visible on Google. It lies somewhere between 55 to 60 characters or 600 pixels.

Here’s how Google automatically truncates a meta title that exceeds the limit.

As a result, it fails to convey the entire message, which may prompt users to check out other pages.

Therefore, always ensure that the meta title is within the visible limit. You can use our title tag length checker tool to do so.

How to Optimise For A Good Title Tag?

Considering meta titles leave a deep impression on users, you’ll want to spend time optimising them.

Here are a few handy tips.

1. Have a unique title for every page.

Don’t use the same meta title for different pages. Not only it shows lack of creativity, but may also confuse Google into thinking that they are the same pages, and suffer in SEO ranking.

Instead, each page should have a unique title that reflects its content.

2. Write for users and not search engine

If you want to rank on Google, you need to write for the users and not search engines. This means you’ll need the title to be grammatically-correct, make sense, and reflect the content of the webpage.

For example, you found a keyword for your blog that seems to be getting traffic.

However, it isn’t grammatically correct, nor does it make any sense in terms of search intent. If you search for the exact keyword, you’ll find that pages with titles that are understandable by humans are ranked on Google.

3. Start with the most important keyword

The placement of the keyword does affect search ranking.

When you’re searching ‘how to choose a guitar’, the #1 result starts with the keyword.

On the 3rd spot is one where the keyword is placed somewhere in the middle of the title.

4. Include company/brand name at the end of the title tag

If you’re running a business, it always helps to include the brand at the end of the title. Doing so may increase the trust factor amongst users and also helps to differentiate the page amongst competitors.

5. Don’t exceed the maximum title length

You’ll want to get the entire message across with the meta title, and that means keeping the length within the limit.

Use our length checker tool when you’re optimising the meta title. The tool indicates how many characters and the pixels taken up by the title.

6. Avoid keyword stuffing on the title

Keyword stuffing is a Black Hat technique that could result in the webpage getting penalised by Google.

Avoid having titles like “Best SEO Agency Top SEO Firm SEO Consultant”. First of all, it turns off users.

Second, you’re inviting trouble from Google.

7. Consider using different H1 and title tags.

By default, most website builders automatically use the H1 as the title tag. While doing so is fine for informational web pages, you may want to take a different route for products or services related content.

The H1 is what the users see when they are already on the page while the title appears before they clicked onto it. Therefore, it makes sense to provide different messages to enhance the user experience.

Meta title ought to be bold and attention-grabbing while the H1 tends to be more descriptive.

For example, the meta title of a pocket drone product page will be :
Eachine 588 | Pocket Drone | Live Camera

And the H1 goes like this:
Eachine 588 Quadcopter Foldable Pocket Drone With Live Camera

8. Only use stop words when necessary

Stop words are words that are not taken into account by the Google search algorithm. For example, “and, for, but, or, with” are stop words.

With only 60 characters to work on, you may want to consider omitting stopwords from the title. For example, “Automatic Coffee Maker | Sales” is as effective as “Automatic Coffee Maker for Sales”.

However, there are occasions where you’ll need to use stopwords. If you’re creating a webpage on “How to choose a coffee maker”, you can’t remove ‘how’, ‘to’, and ‘a’. A result with the title ‘choose coffee maker’ hurts user experience and in turn, negatively affects SEO.

9. Differentiate your page title with competing sites

Usually, you’re competing with other sites that are targeting the same keyword.

Instead of copying their titles, you’ll want to have something different. Appeal to the users with a more catchy title that reflects your brand.

This brings us to the next point.

10. Use action words in title

If you want users to click on your page, you’ll have to tell them so, literally. Optimise your title with action words like ‘Get’, ’Learn’, ‘Make’, ‘Take’, ‘Boost’.

Action words encourage the user to click through the title, which can increase SEO ranking.

Canva has done an excellent job of leveraging action words. Despite being on the 2nd spot, users are more likely to click on it than the generic-sounding title at the top.

Example of Great Title Tags

Here’s one title tag that starts with the keyword and enhances it with a more appealing phrase. It gives off the expectation that the article is comprehensively written and well-structured with a list.

You can also take a leaf from this blog article by Ahref. It plays on the desire and goal of the readers by implying that the podcasts listed will take them to the next level.

If you search for ‘coffee machine Singapore’, you’ll get the perfect keyword + brand combination on the title from Harvey Norman.

Why Do Meta Description Matter?

Meta description serves as an ‘organic ads text’ that summarises the webpage’s content for users and search engines. Compelling meta description appeals to users and increases click-through rate.

Google also highlights the keywords in the meta description, which captures user attention.

Besides search engines, meta description also appears on social media when shared. A well-written meta description attracts users to click into the content on various platforms.

How Long Should A Meta Description Be?

There’s a limit to the number of characters allowed on the meta description before it gets truncated. Google’s limits are

  • ⦁ Desktop: 155 to 160 characters or up to 920 pixels
  • ⦁ Mobile devices: ~120 characters or 680 pixels.

How To Write Better Meta Description

The meta description is a priceless opportunity to appeal to your users to click onto the page. Here’s how you can write better meta descriptions.

1. Use targeted keywords

You’ll want to include the targeted keyword in the meta description. This doesn’t mean that you need to resort to keyword stuffing.

Be moderate when writing around the keyword and write in a natural manner for your users.

2. Make it catchy (especially the first 120 characters).

Most users are browsing on a mobile device, and you’ll only have 120 characters to grab their attention. Highlight exciting facts within the beginning of the meta description and keep it simple.

3. Use unique meta description for each page

Avoid using the same meta description for multiple pages. You’ll want to keep it unique, for the sake of Google and readers.

If you’re running an e-commerce site that sells 10 variants of wireless headphone, you’ll need to ensure that the meta descriptions are different for each of them.

4. Use multiple versions of the keyword

Be flexible when optimising the meta description with keywords. Instead of sticking with the primary keyword, use variations or add modifiers around it.

5. Include call-to-action words.

Get users to click in by inducing a sense of urgency, benefits and value. To do so, use CTA words like ‘Join Now’, ‘Sign Up’, “Learn More’.

6. Stand out from your competitors

Don’t let your page be just ‘another’ one on the search result. Users tend to scan through the results, and you’ll want to ensure that you’re doing something different from competitors.

Showcase a key feature of the product, or benefits to motivate users to visit the page. The Verge’s short yet comprehensive meta description sums up the iPhone 11 brilliantly, but it also attracts users to visit the page for an in-depth review.

7. Ensure the description matches the content of the page.

Google will not hesitate to punish content that does not match up with the meta description. If the description states that there’s free software signup on the page, make sure that it’s true. Else, you risk losing trust from the users and having a drop in ranking.

8. Keep the meta description length within the limit.

It would be a waste if the message got lost just because the meta description got truncated after it was published. Our meta description checker tool will be handy in ensuring that the text stays within the visible characters.

Example of Great Meta Descriptions

Here are great examples to help you optimise your meta descriptions.

Anyone who’s not familiar with Uber will have a good idea on the ride-hailing app, with its short and sweet description.

McDonald’s Malaysia’s 8 words description leaves plenty of space to convey the brand message effectively.
Lazada Singapore uses its meta description to highlight its brand, product categories and the reasons to buy from the platform. It’s a brilliant strategy.
It isn’t easy to summarize a topic with 160 characters. Inc.com did it effortlessly as it explains Google Penguin Update in the meta description.
Another excellent example of how to keep meta description simple, yet pack with information that attracts users to read more.

What is The Title Tag and Meta Description Length Checker Tool?

Both the title tag and meta description length checker tool are part of our Google SERP preview tool.

Together, they allow you to preview how your webpage looks like on Google search results. The tool is designed with high accuracy to check the character and pixels count as you’re editing the meta tags.

How to Use The SERP Simulator and Preview Tool?

What you’re keying into the meta title and description fields will be reflected on the Google SERP preview for both desktop and mobile devices.

You can also simulate the SERP preview with structured data (rating) and image/video snippet.

Whether you’re a marketer, webmaster or business owner, you’ll find this SERP preview tool handy.

The tool makes it easier for you to craft page title and meta description without exceeding the limits. You’re also able to visualise how it looks on Google before publishing the changes.

It helps you to plan your meta tags optimisation strategy and increases the possibility of your web pages ranking higher on Google.

Try out our Google SERP preview tool today!

Find out our
superpowers and
see how we can help
your business grow
with digital marketing

GET FREE PROPOSAL

Our certified digital marketing consultants will provide you with a risk-free marketing consultation, which includes:

Get a customized strategy to generate more leads and sales
Find out the 5 essential elements for digital marketing success
Find out what your competitors are doing and how to beat them
BOOK A MEETING

Get A Free Proposal

2,485,968+

LEADS DRIVEN FOR CLIENTS

$108,535,523+

REVENUE DRIVEN FOR CLIENTS

312,407

HOURS OF EXPERTISE

100+

EXPERTS ON STAFF

    linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram