What is a meta title? Definition & relevance for SEO

In a nutshell: What is a meta title?

The meta title (also: meta title; title tag) is an element in the HTML code that defines the title of a web page. In the search results, this title is listed above the meta description and is an essential ranking factor for search engines such as Google and Bing.

What role does the meta title play in search engine optimization?

The meta title is an integral part of search engine optimization(SEO). By assigning a meta title to each subpage on their entire website, website operators make it easier for search engines to get an impression of the content of the page. This allows the search engine algorithms to better assess the relevance of the content, which has a positive impact on the ranking of the page in the search results.

If website operators do not assign the page title or other metadata themselves, the search engine algorithm generates the meta elements itself - this usually results in an unnatural and truncated-looking meta title that does not accurately describe the content of the page. As a result, the ranking of a website deteriorates significantly due to missing page titles.

Apart from the search engine algorithms, users also expect a title that aptly covers their search intention. If website operators succeed in formulating a page title that sparks users' curiosity right away, the probability of a high click rate is given. Rising click rates encourage an increasing number of website visitors and promote the achievement of individual goals with the website - whether the goal is to increase sales figures in the online store, generate leads for insurance companies or increase the number of readers on your own blog.

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What is the best way to write the meta title?

Keyword focus. Brevity. Conciseness. - These are the three most important characteristics of good page titles. In addition to these quality features, the technically correct implementation of the meta title must also be taken into account. As part of the HTML code, the meta title can be found in the header area of every website. The meta title is implemented in the code as follows:

<head>
<title>“Title Tag“</title>
[Weitere Inhalte…] </head>

Most content management systems (CMS) contain predefined fields for the meta information (meta title and meta description) so that website operators do not have to intervene in the HTML code. In accordance with the core criteria of keyword focus, brevity and conciseness, the meta title and meta description are entered in the fields provided and simply confirmed.

Meta title with focus on the most important keyword

In online marketing and search engine optimization, the principle has proven itself that a maximum of one main keyword or keyword combination should be focused on per website. If the main keyword is "motorcycle helmet" or the keyword combination is "red suit socks", then exactly this main keyword or keyword combination should appear in the meta title.

The premise here is that the main keyword or keyword combination should be written as close to the beginning of the meta title as possible. In this way, the users and the algorithm of each search engine are directly suggested the keyword relevance - this has a positive effect on the flow of visitors to the website and on the ranking of the respective website.

Equally important for meta titles and meta descriptions: brevity and conciseness

Brevity as a core criterion for good meta titles and meta descriptions is derived from two reasons. On the one hand, the restrictions imposed by search engines and, on the other, the generally short attention span of users speak in favor of short meta elements. To explain this in more detail:

For technical and practical reasons, many search engines such as Google limit the length of the meta title to a maximum pixel width of 580 pixels.
This corresponds to a maximum of 70 characters in the meta title - including blank lines.
A meta title of 55 to 65 characters is recommended for security reasons. Everything that exceeds the pixel width of 580 pixels will be cut off by the search engines.
The snippet generator from Sistrix helps you to adhere to the maximum length of meta titles and meta descriptions.

Apart from this aspect of SEO, a short meta title has the advantage that the usually short attention span of users is utilized efficiently: In times when users scroll down the search results and only skim the titles when searching, those website operators who write a compact and concise meta title usually have an advantage. Website operators need to be creative in order to formulate the meta title concisely: Call-to-actions, provocative statements, lurid announcements and other stylistic devices can be used to increase the probability of clicks by users.

Although the specifications just described primarily relate to the title tag, they can also be applied to the meta description. The meta title and meta description are always displayed together in the search results. Even if the meta title is displayed larger, is immediately visible to users and, unlike the meta description, is important for SEO, the meta description is also important. It provides more details about the content of the page and helps users to decide whether to visit the page.

Google provides further valuable tips on the title tag and its implementation in its Google Search Central.

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Good to know: The meta title is not part of the meta tags

Although it has become common parlance, the title tag is not strictly speaking a meta tag and is not part of the meta information. For reasons of simplicity and due to the previously high SEO relevance of meta tags, it is nevertheless assigned to the metadata.

Viewed correctly, the meta title is the title of the HTML document and therefore the title of the website. It is different with the metadata, which only has a descriptive function and provides more detailed information about the content and the correct presentation of the content of the page. Although the metadata is also read by the search engine, this now serves purely informative purposes. The meta title, on the other hand, has not lost any of its ranking significance for SEO compared to the past - unlike the metadata.

Conclusion: What is a meta title?

In contrast to the meta description, the meta title has a high SEO relevance. It should be created for each page of the entire website, whereby the qualitative principles of keyword focus, brevity (ideally 55-65 characters) and conciseness apply. With a good meta title, bloggers, companies, store operators and other website operators attract more visitors to their website. This results in increased popularity of the website and faster achievement of individual goals.