Search and AI answers
Search titles and descriptions
Give every page a title and description you chose, rather than accepting the defaults.
- 3 minute read
- 3 interactive walkthroughs
- For everyone responsible for a site being found
Where these live#
With nothing selected on a page, the inspector has a Search engines section: Title in search results, Description in search results, a shared image, and a switch to hide the page from search engines altogether.
Search engines build their own titles more often than people think, but the title you set is the strongest signal about what the page is, and the description is your one chance to write the advert under it.
In search results, it looks like
Heating and plumbing in Cardiff | Your Company
your-company.cubesites.site
Boilers, repairs and services from a local team. Free quotes across Cardiff.
Search engines
Step 1 of 3
The title
Write it as a person would search: "Emergency plumber in Cardiff" beats "Services". Each page needs its own.
Reduced motion is on, so the walkthrough waits for you. Use the arrows or pick a step.
- 1Open a page and leave nothing selected.
- 2Write the title as a person would search, not as a label: "Emergency plumber in Cardiff" beats "Services".
- 3Write the description as one sentence somebody would click.
The preview and the length limits#
Under the fields, a preview shows the result as it will look in a search list: title, address, description. The character counts are guidance rather than law, but text far past the limits is likely to be cut.
Every page should have its own title. The common failure is a dozen pages called "Home" or the same strapline; each one is a missed chance to be found.
In search results, it looks like
Heating and plumbing in Cardiff | Your Company
your-company.cubesites.site
Boilers, repairs and services from a local team. Free quotes across Cardiff.
Search engines
Step 1 of 2
The preview
Title, address, description, as a search list shows them. Text far past the limits is likely to be cut.
Reduced motion is on, so the walkthrough waits for you. Use the arrows or pick a step.
Good to know: Write for a person deciding what to click, and the search engine follows. Keyword lists read like spam to both.
Asking AI for a suggestion#
Suggest with AI offers a title and description based on the page itself, in a form you can accept or edit. It is a draft like every AI draft: fine to keep, fine to bin, never published on its own.
The most common edit after accepting a suggestion is cutting it shorter. Machine drafts are usually a few words too long for the box they land in.
In search results, it looks like
Heating and plumbing in Cardiff | Your Company
your-company.cubesites.site
Boilers, repairs and services from a local team. Free quotes across Cardiff.
Search engines
Step 1 of 2
Suggest with AI
A title and description drafted from the page itself, in a form you can accept or edit.
Reduced motion is on, so the walkthrough waits for you. Use the arrows or pick a step.
- Every page has its own title
- Descriptions say something a searcher would click
- The shared image is the one that looks right small
- Nothing is hidden from search by accident
Common questions
What if I do nothing here?
Search engines will use your page title and first paragraph. That is workable; a written title and description are simply better at getting clicks.
Does the description change my ranking?
Indirectly at most. It affects whether people click once they see the result, which matters more than most ranking knobs.
Related guides
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