Titles and descriptions in Google
The title in the search result is usually the title tag. The snippet is usually the meta description, unless Google chooses another passage from the page. There is no official length that ranks. There is a screen width that cuts.
Unique matters more than a magic length
Google has said for years there is no fixed character quota for ranking. On a normal screen the title is often cut around 50–60 characters and the snippet around 150–160, because that is display width, not a rule. A cut title that is still clear beats a short empty one.
Each page needs its own title and description. The same description on every page tells Google and the visitor that the pages are the same.
| Field | Job | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| title | The page topic in the result | Only the brand, with no topic |
| description | Why click | Copied across the site or from another site |
| H1 | The topic on the page | A heading unrelated to the title |
| One heading | One topic per page | Three H1s for three topics |