Titles and meta descriptions are the first thing searchers see: the blue link and the two lines under it. They’re also among the easiest things to get wrong at scale. A CMS default that outputs “Home” on fifty pages, a product template that appends the full category path, a plugin that never filled in descriptions.
This guide covers what to check, which rules of thumb hold up, and how to fix titles and descriptions across a whole site rather than one page at a time.
What does Google do with titles and descriptions?
Titles. Google’s title link guidelines say “there’s no limit on how long a <title> element can be”, but the title link is truncated “typically to fit the device width”. Google builds title links from several sources: the <title> element, the main visual title, <h1> headings, og:title, prominent text and anchor text. It rewrites titles that are vague, boilerplate, keyword-stuffed or out of date.
Descriptions. The snippet guidelines say the same about length: no limit, truncated as needed. Google uses the meta description when it describes the page better than the page content, and otherwise generates a snippet from the text.
So character counts are rules of thumb, not limits. They’re still useful: a 95-character title will be cut off, and an 18-character one probably isn’t describing the page.
What should a title and description audit check?
| Element | Problem | Crawlens check | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Missing | Missing page title | Warning |
| Title | Same title on several pages | Duplicate page titles | Warning |
| Title | Over 60 characters | Title longer than 60 characters | Notice |
| Title | Under 30 characters | Title shorter than 30 characters | Notice |
| Description | Missing | Missing meta description | Warning |
| Description | Same description on several pages | Duplicate meta descriptions | Warning |
| Description | Outside 70–160 characters | Meta description length | Notice |
| H1 | Missing | Missing H1 | Warning |
| H1 | More than one | Multiple H1 headings | Notice |
All of these run on indexable pages only: there’s no point polishing the title of a page that redirects or is noindexed. Duplicates are compared ignoring case and surrounding spaces, so “Trail Shoes” and “trail shoes “ count as the same.
How do you fix them at scale?
1. Fix templates first
Sort the issues by URL folder. Most title and description problems come from a template: every product page appending “| Shop | Brand | Free shipping”, every article missing a description because the field is optional. One template fix can clear thousands of issues.
2. Generate from page data where it makes sense
Google’s snippet guidance explicitly allows programmatically generated descriptions on large, database-driven sites, as long as they use page-specific data rather than the same sentence everywhere. A product description built from name, key specs and price is far better than a blank or a duplicate.
3. Write unique titles for pages that matter
For important pages, write titles by hand: the main topic first, specific details next, the brand at the end if there’s room. Avoid boilerplate like “Cheap products for sale” on every page, which Google calls out as making pages impossible to tell apart.
4. Keep one clear H1
The H1 should state the page’s main topic, and usually match the title closely. Google uses headings as one source for title links, so a clear H1 also makes rewrites less likely to go wrong.
Which titles should you rewrite first?
Pages that already rank but don’t get clicked. With Search Console connected, Crawlens flags low click-through rate for the ranking position: pages in the top 10 with at least 200 impressions and a CTR less than half of what’s typical for their position. The snippet is the usual culprit, and rewriting it is less work than improving rankings. For pages just off page one, see striking distance keywords.
If you use an AI assistant, Crawlens’s MCP server includes a Rewrite titles & meta descriptions prompt. It reads each page’s headings and search data, then drafts titles of 30–60 characters and descriptions of 70–160, in the page’s own language. Treat the output as a draft to review. See how to use Claude for a technical SEO audit.
Checklist
- Every indexable page has a title and a meta description
- No duplicate titles or descriptions across indexable pages
- Titles roughly 30–60 characters, main topic first
- Descriptions roughly 70–160 characters, specific to the page
- No boilerplate or keyword stuffing in templates
- One H1 per page, describing the main topic
- Low-CTR pages on page one rewritten first
Frequently asked questions
How long should a title tag be?
Google says there's no limit on title length, but titles are truncated to fit the device width. Around 30–60 characters is a practical target that usually displays in full and leaves room to describe the page.
How long should a meta description be?
There's no limit either; snippets are truncated to fit the device. Around 70–160 characters is a common target. More important is that each description is unique and summarises the page.
Why does Google rewrite my title?
Google generates title links from several sources, including the title element, the main heading, og:title and anchor text. It rewrites titles that are vague, boilerplate, keyword-stuffed, outdated or don't match the page.
Does Google always use my meta description?
No. Google uses it when it describes the page better than other content on the page; otherwise it builds a snippet from the page text, often based on the search query.
Should a page have only one H1?
One H1 describing the main topic is the clearest structure for users and search engines. Multiple H1s aren't an error, but they can blur what the page is mainly about.