You probably know that your website content helps people find you in search. The title of each page or post plays a key role in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Write titles that clearly summarize the page and include the terms your audience is likely to search for. When users enter those keywords, search results highlight them in the title.
Tips to Maximize the Effectiveness of Post Titles
- Keep your post title short. Ensure the Title is below 55 characters, so it does not cut off. (check the Yoast SEO preview to see how long your title is and how it will appear in search results)
- Put important keywords closer to the beginning of the title. Research suggests that when keywords are closer to the front, pages get higher search engine rankings and click through rates.
- To ensure higher click-through rates, make sure your title is creative, unique, and makes sense to the reader. Remember, you are writing for a human reader too. Make them want to click!
We install the Yoast SEO plug-in in our WordPress sites to help you optimize your pages and posts for search results. This plug-in lets you enter custom descriptions and titles for the snippet of the page. The snippet is the summary which appears in search results.
How to Edit the Yoast SEO Title and Meta Descriptions
- While you in the page or post editor, scroll down to the Yoast SEO section to see a preview of the default SEO Title and Meta Description
- Click on the Snippet Editor button
- The SEO Title field shows you what the template is for a title in your site (For example, Title of the page + a separator + your site name)
- Click on the field to change it
- The Meta Description field is used to change the default description
- You can keep what’s in the default field, paste it in and type in your changes, or start from scratch and write a new description
- The changes are saved when you save or update the page or post
- Look for the colored progress bar, it gives you an idea of the proper length for the title or description. Red text indicates the text is too long, orange is too short, and green is about the right length
Updated September 26, 2025
