How to Write a Title Tag and Meta Description That Gets Clicks
Titles under 60 characters with the search term first, descriptions of 140-160 that give a reason to click. Formulas, examples and why Google rewrites yours.
Practical rules for writing titles and descriptions that earn clicks, with South African examples and the mistakes that cost you traffic.
TL;DR: Quick Answer
Titles under 60 characters with the search term first, descriptions of 140-160 that give a reason to click. Formulas, examples and why Google rewrites yours.
Key takeaways
- Very cheap quotes (under R5,000) almost always exclude copywriting, SEO, custom design and post-launch support
- Professional copywriting can represent 20-35% of a total website project cost, and is worth it for search visibility
- On-page SEO built into the website at launch costs a fraction of what it costs to retrofit after the site is live
- Hosting, SSL, domain and maintenance add R3,000-R10,000 per year on top of build cost
- E-commerce adds significant cost due to payment gateway integrations, product data, security requirements and checkout UX
- Timeline and client responsiveness directly affect cost: slow feedback rounds extend agency hours
Your title and description are an advert competing with nine others on the same screen. Ranking third with a title that earns clicks beats ranking second with one that does not, and this is the rare piece of SEO that produces results within days.
The title tag
Keep it under about 60 characters. Google measures pixel width rather than characters, so 60 is a guideline; what matters is that it is not cut off.
Put the search term first. People scan the left of each result. "Geyser Repair Centurion" earns attention that "Juicy Plumbing: Your Trusted Partner in Geyser Repair" loses.
Add a reason to choose you. Same-day, 24/7, a guarantee, a price range. Everyone else is describing what they do; a differentiator is what makes the click happen.
Include the location if you serve a specific area.
End with the brand if there is room. It builds recognition, and it goes last because it is the least persuasive part.
Formulas that work
[Service] [Location] | [Differentiator] | [Brand]
Geyser Repair Centurion | Same-Day Callout | Juicy Plumbing
[Question as searched]? [Short answer]
What Does a New Geyser Cost in South Africa? 2026 Prices
[Number] [Thing] for [Audience]
7 Geyser Faults Every Centurion Homeowner Should Know
The meta description
It is not a ranking factor. It is a sales line, and it decides how much traffic a given ranking actually delivers.
Aim for 140 to 160 characters. Shorter wastes the space; longer gets truncated mid-sentence.
Answer the search in the first sentence. Someone searching a question wants to see that you answer it, not that you are passionate about service excellence.
Include the search term naturally. Google bolds matching words, which draws the eye.
Be specific. "From R4,500, installed within 24 hours" beats "competitive prices and fast service" every time, because one is information and the other is noise.
Finish with an action. Get a quote, see prices, book a callout.
Before and after
| Weak | Better |
|---|---|
| Home | ABC Plumbing | Plumber in Centurion | 24/7 Callout | ABC Plumbing |
| Services | Geyser Repair & Installation Centurion | From R2,800 |
| About Us | About ABC Plumbing | Serving Centurion Since 2011 |
| Blog Post | How Long Does a Geyser Last in South Africa? (2026) |
Every one on the left is a real pattern on real South African business sites, and every one is free traffic left on the table.
Why Google rewrites your title
Google replaces titles roughly a third of the time, usually for one of three reasons: the title does not match what the person searched, it is too long, or it is stuffed with repeated keywords.
The fix is not a trick. Write a title that clearly matches what the page is about and what people actually search, keep it short, and Google will generally keep it. If it still rewrites, look at what it substitutes, because that is Google telling you what it thinks the page is about.
Finding which ones to fix first
Open Search Console, Performance, last three months. Sort by impressions and look for pages with many impressions and a click-through rate under about 2%.
Those are pages people see and skip. Rewriting the title and description there is the highest-return hour of SEO work available, because the ranking already exists and you are only changing whether it earns anything.
Change them, then check back in three to four weeks and compare the click-through rate against the same period before.
The rules that are easy to break
Every page needs its own title and description. Duplicates tell Google the pages are interchangeable.
Do not repeat the keyword three times; it reads badly and invites a rewrite.
Do not promise what the page does not deliver. It earns the click and loses the customer, and the bounce is visible.
Juicy Designs rewrites these across the site as part of SEO and every SEO audit. Related: using AI for titles and descriptions and reading Search Console.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a title tag that gets clicks?
Put the search term first, add what makes you different, and keep it under about 60 characters so it does not get cut off. The title is competing against nine others on the page, so it has to give a reason to choose you rather than only describe the page.
How long should a title tag and meta description be?
Titles under about 60 characters and descriptions between 140 and 160. Google measures pixels rather than characters, so treat those as guidelines and check how they actually render.
Does the meta description affect rankings?
Not directly. It affects click-through rate, and click-through rate affects how much traffic a given ranking earns. A better description on an unchanged ranking is free traffic.
Why does Google rewrite my titles?
Usually because the title does not match the query well, is too long, or is stuffed with keywords. Writing a clear title that matches search intent is the way to stop it happening.
Should every page have a unique title and description?
Yes. Duplicates across pages tell Google the pages are interchangeable, and it will pick one to rank and ignore the others.