Title tags and meta descriptions that are not all the same

A title tag is the line that shows in search results and at the top of the browser tab. When several pages on your website share the same one, a search engine cannot tell which page to show, so it usually shows a competitor instead. This is one of the most common and most fixable problems on contractor sites.

Patterns

Homepage: Primary service in your town, your state | your company Service page: Service in your town, your state | your company Location page: Service in [Town], your state | your company Project page: Feature type in [Town] | your company Cost page: What a [feature] costs in your town, your state | your company Blog post: The question, answered. Keep the brand off blog titles if it costs you room. About: About your company | [what makes you different in four words] Contact: Contact your company | [service] in your town, your state

Rules

Around 55 to 60 characters. Longer gets cut off.

Every page different. If you can swap two titles and nobody notices, rewrite both.

The most important words first. "Pond Repair in your town" beats "your company offers pond repair".

No keyword stuffing. "Pond Builder Pond Installation Pond Contractor your town" reads like spam because it is.

Meta descriptions

Around 150 characters. This is not a ranking factor, it is a sales line. It decides whether someone clicks you or the result below you.

Pattern: what you do, where, and one reason to pick you, ending with an action.

"Ecosystem koi ponds and waterfalls built across your service area. Fully planned, properly filtered, built to last. Call your phone number for a site visit."

Write one per page. Never leave it blank and never let the theme generate it from the first sentence of the page.