One really good SEO exercise is to audit our page titles and descriptions and ask: do they suggest that the page is going to answer a query?
Things have changed on the web in recent years. We’ve always wanted solutions to problems, but in the past we’ve tended to search for the facts and the data that will help us formulate those solutions ourselves. Now, we want to skip this step, and the pages which get the clicks are the ones which advertise themselves as having the answers, directly.
This has implications for our page titles and descriptions. One of the reasons why Google increasingly rewrites descriptions, rather than using our meta data, is because it knows what works, and thinks it can provide something more attractive.
So one really good SEO exercise that we can all undertake is to audit those page titles and descriptions. Use something like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, SEMrush, Ahrefs, DeepCrawl or Ubersuggest, which have site crawling capabilities, to list what we’ve got. Then for each page, think: does that title suggest that the page is going to answer my query? Is that meta description selling the page to me? As marketers, we should be able to come up with something attractive.
And if we need some help, there’s always ChatGPT, which is great at this sort of thing. For example, I asked it:
- “You are a marketing and SEO expert. Write a page title (maximum 65 characters) and meta description (maximum 160 characters) for the web page copy below which will look attractive when used in search results, suggesting that the page has the answer to potential user queries”
Then I pasted in the text above. It suggested:
Page Title:
“Optimize Your SEO: Craft Titles and Descriptions That Click”
Meta Description:
“Discover how to create compelling page titles and meta descriptions that attract clicks and answer user queries with top tools like Screaming Frog and SEMrush.”
Want to have some alternatives to pick from, perhaps with specific keywords?
- Write 4 more combinations of Page Title and Meta Description for the above.
Combination 1
Page Title:
“Boost Your SEO: Create Titles and Descriptions That Convert”
Meta Description:
“Learn how to write engaging page titles and meta descriptions that drive clicks and provide answers. Use tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs for SEO audits.”
Combination 2
Page Title:
“SEO Success: Mastering Page Titles and Meta Descriptions”
Meta Description:
“Unlock the secrets to effective SEO with page titles and meta descriptions that answer queries. Leverage tools like Screaming Frog and DeepCrawl.”
Combination 3
Page Title:
“Effective SEO: Crafting Answer-Driven Titles and Descriptions”
Meta Description:
“Find out how to create SEO-friendly titles and descriptions that attract clicks. Tools like Sitebulb and Ubersuggest help audit and optimize your content.”
Combination 4
Page Title:
“SEO Guide: Writing Titles and Descriptions That Get Clicks”
Meta Description:
“Discover tips for writing compelling page titles and meta descriptions. Use tools like Ahrefs and Screaming Frog to ensure your content answers user queries.”