Writing page titles that readers and search engines understand

A practical guide for HubCage readers, written from everyday experience.

The page title is often the first thing a person sees in search results, so it works like a shop sign. Put the main subject near the start, keep it under about sixty characters so it is not cut off, and make each title different from every other page on the site. A title that promises one thing and delivers another loses the visitor within seconds.

Write the short description beneath it as a plain summary of what the page offers, not a list of keywords. Search engines may rewrite either line if they think another phrase on the page fits a query better, which is a hint that the original was vague. Review titles for your ten most visited pages twice a year and rewrite the weakest one each time.