What Is A Meta Title?

Date First Published: 16th October 2022

Topic: Web Design & Development

Subtopic: SEO

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 5/10

Learn more about what a meta title is in this article.

A meta title, also known as a title tag, is a HTML tag used to specify the title of a webpage. The title can be seen in the web browser tab, the SERP, the bookmarks bar, and social media posts, but not on the webpage. The title of a webpage is the most important meta tag for SEO as it is used by search engine algorithms to decide the order when listing pages in the search results based on whether the searcher's query matches the title.

The title tag is required in every HTML document. Without it, the web browser will only display the name of the HTML file and search engines, such as Google will automatically create a title for a webpage based on the content of the page, which does not always lead to good results. An example of a page title in a HTML document can be seen below:

Although search engines will use the text specified in the title tag when possible, adding the title tag does not guarantee that search engines will display that title in the search results when they index the page. If a title is not informative enough or is stuffed with keywords, search engines may rewrite the page title or automatically generate one. Since August 2021, Google has been rewriting more page titles in search results if they don't meet their quality standards. The title they may automatically use may be the titles in heading tags.

Meta titles can be manually written in a HTML document or when using a CMS, such as WordPress, they can be generated and optimised using HTML tools, such as Yoast SEO, reducing the chances of human errors. Yoast SEO will perform checks on the title to ensure that the title is of sufficient length and uses keyphrases relevant to the content of the page. CMSes will automatically write the HTML for users.

Tips For Meta Titles

The tips below should help you to create good meta titles:

• Always choose a meaningful and eye-catching title that accurately describes the page content.
• Make sure that the title tag is unique on every page and avoid using the same title on two or more pages. Duplicate titles may cause search engines to mistake the pages as duplicate content across a website or across other websites.
• Keep the title tag a sufficient length. Although there is no specific limit for the title tag, most search engines will only display around 50-60 characters of the title, so avoid having a title longer than that. Also, avoid using excessively short titles. The ideal title length is 20-60 characters.
• Make sure that keywords relevant to the page are included in the title (e.g. if a page contains instructions on how to set up a network, make sure that the title has the keyword 'network' in it, such as 'How To Set Up A Network?'
• Even though this has no effect on the rankings on the search results page , it is recommended to capitalise the first letters of the words in the title as these make it look more professional and easier to read when searchers are browsing through search results. (e.g. the title 'How to get help in Windows 10' should be 'How To Get Help In Windows 10'
• Encourage people to click by making them appealing, such as '10 Easy Ways To Make Money Online', but avoid exaggerating or making false promises.
• Be consistent. If hyphens are used between the spaces in words, stick to them and avoid constantly switching between dashes, slashes, colons, and arrows.
• Do not use more than one title tag in a HTML document. HTML documents can only contain one title tag.
• Do not use a vague tag, such as 'Page 1', 'Untitled', 'HTML Page', 'Home', or 'New page'.
• Do not use text in the tag that is unrelated to the webpage as this can mislead users.
• Do not just write a list of keywords in the title (e.g. web design, web development, web developer).
• Do not stuff the title with keywords. Keyword stuffing is viewed as a form of spam by search engines and gives a bad user experience. Avoid titles that repeat a list of keyword phrases or the same keywords over and over again as these look unprofessional (e.g. 'Handmade cards for sale | Handmade cards here | Cheap handmade cards | Buy handmade cards now | Best handmade cards')
• Avoid spelling and grammatical errors in the title.

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