Titles that get cited

The title tag remains one of the highest-weight signals in retrieval, and it is the line a model most often uses to decide whether a page is even relevant to the question. Yet the average small-business title is a brand name and a slogan.

The shape that works

Specific thing + qualifying detail + brand. Under 60 characters so it is not truncated.

Rules

• Front-load the distinctive words. If it truncates, the first forty characters must still carry the meaning.
• Include the constraint. "for small crews", "in Orange NSW", "under $300". Constraints are what questions contain.
• One page, one claim. A title covering three things ranks for none.
• Brand last, separated by a pipe. Unless you are a household name, the brand is not the searchable part.
• No stuffing. "Quoting Software, Quote App, Quoting Tool, Job Quotes" reads as spam to every reader involved.

Meta descriptions

Search engines frequently rewrite them, so their direct ranking value is low. They still matter for two reasons: they are often used verbatim as the snippet, and they are a compact, machine-readable summary of the page.

Write one sentence that answers the page's question, in 50–160 characters, with a specific in it.

Weak: We offer a range of quoting solutions designed to help your business succeed.

>

Better: Quote a job from site in about five minutes, sync approved quotes to Xero. Flat price per crew, no per-seat fees.

The H1 is a separate job

Your title tag is written for a list of results. Your H1 is written for someone who has arrived. They should agree with each other but do not need to be identical — and the H1 is a good place to phrase the topic as the question a person would ask.

Formulas by page type are on the title and meta formulas page.