How to optimise page titles and descriptions for SEO

Owned by Marcella Marino
Last updated: 06 May, 2024
3 min read

It is important to write optimised page titles and meta descriptions. Google will sometimes use meta description tag to generate a snippet in search results, which can inform users of what the page is about.

This is a guide on how to apply SEO to the Page title and Summary for content types available in the Vic Gov CMS: content.vic.gov.au

By default, your Page title and Summary will be used by search engines.

Content types that can be customised further for search engines (include Metatag configuration), include:

On this page:

Optimise your Page title and Summary

Visit Ubersuggest or Google Trends to find keywords that are trending for your title and summary.​​

Page title best practices 

  • May be referred to as ‘meta titles’

  • Title tags are meant to provide an accurate and concise description of a page’s content:

    • Signal to users the purpose/nature of the content.

    • Describe page content to search engines that crawl and index web pages.

  • Google may rewrite your title tags and display something different in the SERP

Best practices:

  • 60 characters, or less (including spaces) - most desktop and mobile browsers can display the first 50-60 characters of a title tag.

  • Create unique titles for each web page.

  • Include target keywords, but avoid keyword stuffing.

Page title (Heading 1)

Your title and summary should:

  • be unique and descriptive. For example, don't use About us as a page title, use About Cladding Safety Victoria

  • be no longer than 60 characters

  • include target keywords.

Don’t forget to use sentence case (lower case and no capital letters unless the word is a proper noun) so the title is easy to read and follows our style guide e.g. Water price review 2024.

Meta descriptions (Summary) best practices 

  • Meta descriptions are an HTML element that provides a summary of each web page.

  • Meta descriptions are displayed in search engine results pages and intend to provide users with context about what is on the page.

    • Google may display different text within search results 

  • Not necessarily a ranking factor, but valuable descriptions can impact a page’s CTR, which can impact a page’s ability to rank

  • Called Summary within Vic Gov CMS: content.vic.gov.au

Best practices:

  • Recommend length 50-160 characters. Google tends to truncate descriptions around 155-160 characters

  • Utilise target keywords, and compelling copy that entices users to click through to the page

  • Create unique descriptions (summaries) for each page, that are relevant to the content

How to update Metatags within the Vic Gov CMS

You can add an alternate Page title and Description for search engines to use.

These can only be added to landing, grant and news content types.

To update the fields, expand the Metatag section on the right hand side of the draft page. Here you will see a section where you can add an alternative title and description for search engines.

Metatags should be unique, the right length and include target key words. They appear in Google search results.​

Visit Ubersuggest or Google Trends to find keywords that are trending for your Page title and Description.​​ The best practices listed above also apply to Page title and Description here.

Page title

Newspaper headline of your page. Maximum 60 characters. ​

Description

A short description that attracts users to click on your content. Includes a call to action (use active voice). Maximum 155 characters.