SPIOUNby 6S

Titles, descriptions and headings

The lines Google shows under your link, and the signals it reads from the page.

Issues on this page

Missing title

What
The page has no title tag.
Why
The title is the blue link in Google's results and the strongest signal of what the page is about. Without it Google invents one.
How
Give the page a title that says what it is, with the site name last. Under about 60 characters. Steps for your platform →

Title too long

What
The title is longer than about 70 characters.
Why
Google cuts long titles off, so the end, often the part that matters, disappears.
How
Shorten it to about 60 characters. Put the page's own name first, the site name last. Steps for your platform →

Title may be cut off on mobile

What
The title is between 60 and 70 characters.
Why
On phones Google shows less of a title than on a computer.
How
If the start of the title already says what the page is, leave it. Otherwise trim it to about 60 characters. Steps for your platform →

Title too short

What
The title has fewer than 15 characters.
Why
Very short titles such as "Home" or "Gallery" tell Google and people little.
How
Say what the page is and for whom, for example "Yoga classes in Luxembourg City — Studio Name". Steps for your platform →

Missing meta description

What
The page has no meta description.
Why
Google then picks text from the page itself, which often reads badly under your link. A good description earns more clicks.
How
Write one or two sentences, up to about 155 characters, that say what someone gets on this page. Steps for your platform →

Meta description too long

What
The description is longer than about 165 characters.
Why
Google cuts it off, so the end is lost.
How
Shorten it to about 155 characters, keeping the first sentence intact. Steps for your platform →

Meta description too short

What
The description has fewer than 50 characters.
Why
It leaves most of the space under your link unused.
How
Expand it to a full sentence or two, up to about 155 characters. Steps for your platform →

Duplicate title

What
Several pages share the same title.
Why
Google cannot tell the pages apart and may show the wrong one.
How
Give each page its own title. Often the template adds the same text everywhere; fix it there. Steps for your platform →

Duplicate meta description

What
Several pages share the same description.
Why
Google may ignore it and the pages look identical in results.
How
Give each page its own description, or leave it empty on pages where you cannot, rather than copying one. Steps for your platform →

No main heading

What
The page has no main heading.
Why
The main heading tells readers and Google what the page is about. Most templates make the page title the H1.
How
Make sure the page has one visible main heading at the top. In most builders the page title field does this. Steps for your platform →

More than one main heading

What
The page has more than one main heading.
Why
Not an error, but one main heading is clearer for readers and for Google.
How
Keep one H1, usually the page title, and make the others H2. Steps for your platform →

No language attribute

What
The page does not declare its language.
Why
Browsers, screen readers and Google use it to treat the text correctly. On multilingual sites it also helps show the right version.
How
Set the site language in your site settings. In code: lang="fr" on the html tag. Steps for your platform →

Thin page

What
The page has very little text.
Why
Google has little to go on, so the page rarely ranks for anything. Normal for galleries or contact pages.
How
If the page should be found by search, add a few sentences that say what it is about. Otherwise ignore this notice. Steps for your platform →

Words used here

Title
The page's title tag: the blue link text in Google's results and the name of the browser tab. The most important line on the page for search. Keep it under about 60 characters so it is not cut off. Glossary
Meta description
The short text under your page title in Google's results. Google does not always use it, but when it does, a good one gets more clicks. Aim for one or two sentences, up to about 155 characters. Glossary
H1 heading
The main heading on the page, usually the visible page title at the top. One per page, saying what the page is about. Glossary
Language attribute
A small mark in the page code (lang="fr") that says which language the page is written in. Browsers, screen readers and Google rely on it. Glossary