SEO Title Versus Meta Description Tag
-
From an SEO perspective, is the title tag more important than the description tag? We use a set format for these tags on our real estate web site. The site contains 300 listings.
Sample Title Tag:
Greenwich Village | Office Space Rental| 2300SF $9583/monthSample Description Tag:
Classic Greenwich Village office rental. Hardwood floors, 11' ceiling. 5 oversized windows. 24/7 attended lobby. Renovated common areas. Below market rent.Are we shooting ourselves in the foot by repeating the Square Footage and monthly rent amounts in the title tag? Should this tag be used for a short more descriptive terms so as to maximize the SEO benefit? Should these numbers be listed in the description tag? The listings are not heavily SEO optimized so I don't know whether this is really a non-issue.
-
Everyone is correct the Title Tag is more important than the description. You should also consider you H1 in context of your title tag as that is also important. On the description that has no or nominal SEO impact. So as Patrick states this is where you take the opportunity to focus on CTR or a CTA.
Your sample tag - does not include the brand name, so google will likely draw that in. So Patrick's suggestions should be considered Page | Category | Brand
I would think that you are shooting yourself in the foot including monthly figures and square foot in the title unless that is a key way people search for the space in the US - i would think Greenwich Village | Office Space Rental | Brand. That is what I would recommend. Cover suburb, geo-specific and key words office space and then brand...
I am not sure I would even list size etc in the description, but leave with you.
-
Yes, title tags are more important from an SEO perspective, but the real goal is to get people to do what the website is set up for, which in your case is rentals.
Rental pages by their nature are not evergreen (hopefully!), so getting interested buyers to click on a listing is more important than getting a page to rank well.
You do need to rank well enough so that people will see your results (so, first page, anyway) but I know that seeing square footage and pricing information right up front would certainly make me click on that result, even if it were lower on the page.
You could try splitting your listings and doing half with these details and half with descriptive keyword terms, and see what you get.
-
Hi there
Your title tag is substantially more important that your meta description, but keep in mind that meta descriptions are important for click through purposes.
I would research your audience and the content that they regularly digest so that you can name your titles (and format them) more appropriately. You want the most important information first, and branding last (in my opinion). I usually set up titles the following way:
Page | Brand
Category | Brand
Page | Category | BrandSome people do it differently, but make sure it's based on research and data - not just pulling out of thin air.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
-
In terms of what is right and wrong, don't just look at this from an SEO perspective, remember that you want something engaging to people seeing you in the SERPs. You want to get clicks - there is little point in having a good placement but you are putting potential visitors off.
Be as descriptive as possible, but without adding more in just for the sake of it. Sometimes a short title can be more effective than a longer one. Lots of people skim-read, so keep this in mind.
Add important information to both title and description as needed.
-Andy
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Has Anyone Encountered This Old Meta Tag and Know It's Past Function?
name="url" content="http://www.mysite.com/"> I've never personally seen it used until I saw a site using it this past weekend...I cannot find any old documentation on the purpose if this tag either.Any insights or direction would truly appreciated!Many thanks, T 😎
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | talexanderyano0 -
Should brand/company be included in meta title?
Is there any point/benefit/requirement in using brand/company name in the meta title, I realise search engines like Google prefer brand focused pages, However it is unlikely that someone would be including the company in our search terms. Any thoughts?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | seoman100 -
Best Practices for Homepage Title Tag
Hi, I would like to know if there is any update about the best practices for the homepage title tag. I mean, a couple of years ago, it was still working placing main keywords in the homepage title tag. But since the last google SERP update, the number of characters that are being shown were reduced, and now we try to work with 55 and 56 characters. That has reduced our capacity of including many keywords on the title tag. Besides, search engines are smarter now to choose the correct inner page to show in SERP. But I am wondering if the Homepage Title should have a branded orientation or should include main keywords, cause it is still working that strategy. I would appreciatte any update in this issue. Thank you!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | teconsite0 -
How long does it take for google to update my meta tag des?
Hi Guys: I have 3 top level domains, basically - I can see that my website is ranking in another country (USA) for my keyword - however the domain name that is showing up for the USA search is correct, but the meta tag description is incorrect, this meta tag description is for the NZ domain - not the USA domain. I have updated the hreflang tags, when i submit my new sitemap how long does it take google to update the meta tag description? new
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | edward-may0 -
Constructing the perfect META Title - Ranking vs CTR vs Search Volume
Hello Mozzers! I want to discuss the science behind the perfect META Title in terms of three factors: 1. Ranking 2. CTR 3. Search Volume Hypothetical scenario: A furniture company "Boogie Beds" wants to optimise their META Title tag for their "Cane Beds" ecommerce webpage. 1. The keywords "Cane Beds' has a search volume of 10,000 2. The keywords " Cane Beds For Sale" has a search volume of 250 3. The keywords "Buy Cane Beds" has a search volume of 25 One of Boogie Beds SEO's suggests a META Title "Buy Cane Beds For Sale Online | Boogie Beds" to target and rank for all three keywords and capture long tail searches. The other Boogie Bed SEO says no! The META Title should be "Cane Beds For Sale | Boogie Beds" to target the most important two competitive keywords and sacrifice the "Buy" keyword for the other two Which SEO would you agree more with, considering 1. Ranking ability 2. Click through rates 3. Long tail search volume 4. Keyword dilution Much appreciated! MozAddict
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | MozAddict1 -
International SEO
Hi all, The company that I work for is planning to target some french (and some other foreign) keywords. The thing is, in our industry, you can't just hire someone to translate the content/pages. The pages have to be translated by an accredited translator. Here's the thing, it costs a LOT of money just to translate a few thousand words. So, the CEO decided to translate a few of our 'core' pages and SEO them to see if it brings results. My questions are, would it be possible from a technical point of view to simply translate a few pages? Would that cause a problem for the search engine crawlers? Would those pages be 'seen' as duplicates? Thanks in advance guys!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | EdwardDennis0 -
Advice on further SEO
I am frustrated by a lack of progress for a major keyword I want to rank for. I have made several pages, optimized with Onpage and even a whole site but I can't seem to get my ratings up. I am hoping somone can take a look at my pages and efforts and offer me some advice... Keyword is "National Currency" One site is devoted to this keyword: NationalCurrencyValues This site is ranked 30th and is down 9... and this page on another site is devoted to the same keyword ranked 26th is: http://www.antiquebanknotes.com/National-Currency.aspx
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Banknotes0 -
Should I use the main keyword in the title tag for the site on all category pages?
I am pretty excited about changing all my title tags (for the most important 7 pages) since I have seen my rankings jump up in the SERP just by adding the main keyword for my website in the title tag. To make it easier I will explain my business. Simply, I run an online jewelry shop, so basically the keywords I want to use is "Jewelry online" and for the main categories "Necklace", "Rings" and "Bracelets". What I am unsure about is whether to use all the keywords in the main pages title tag or should I just use the main keyword "Jewelry online". I don’t want to create competition between my own pages of course. Jewelry Online - Trendy Fashion Jewelry | Homepage Or Jewelry Online - Necklace, Rings, Bracelets | Homepage And the same goes for the main categories, should I include "jewelry online" or not, like: Bracelets - Fashion Jewelry Online | Homepage Or Bracelets - Trendy_ Bangles_ and Arm Cuffs | Homepage Any suggestions what is the best practice for the title tag on main page and the main categories? Thanks
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | ikomorin0