Titles and meta descriptions

The title is a genuine ranking factor and the biggest driver of clicks; the meta description shapes the click even though it is not a direct ranking factor.

What this check flags

For both the title tag and the meta description, the crawler flags:

• Missing: the page has none.
• Duplicate: the same text appears on more than one page.
• Too long: likely to be truncated in search results.
• Too short: thin, and probably not making the most of the space.

Why titles and meta descriptions matter for SEO

• Title tags tell search engines and users what a page is about. A clear, unique, keyword-relevant title helps a page rank for the right queries and earns the click.
• Meta descriptions are the sentence or two under the title in results. They do not directly affect ranking, but a compelling description lifts click-through, and clicks matter.
• Duplicates confuse both users and search engines about which page is which, and dilute relevance across near-identical titles.

Title tag best practices

• Length: aim for roughly 50 to 60 characters, or about 575 to 600 pixels, so the title is not cut off. Search engines measure width in pixels, not characters, which is why a pixel budget is more accurate than a character count.
• Unique on every page. No two pages should share a title.
• Keyword near the front, where it carries the most weight and is visible even if truncated.
• Brand at the end, usually after a separator, and only if there is room.
• Match search intent. The title should reflect what the page actually delivers.

Meta description best practices

• Length: roughly 120 to 155 characters. Go long and it truncates; go too short and you waste the space.
• Unique and specific to the page.
• Write it to earn the click: say what the page offers and why to choose it.
• Include the main term naturally, since matched words are bolded in results.
• Accept that Google may rewrite it. Search engines sometimes replace your description with text from the page that better fits the query. Write a good one anyway; it is used most of the time.

How to fix each issue

• Missing: write a unique title and description for the page.
• Duplicate: rewrite so each page is distinct, usually by leading with what makes that page different.
• Too long: tighten to fit the length budget, keeping the important words at the front.
• Too short: expand to use the available space with useful, specific wording.

Preview your changes before you ship them with the free SERP snippet preview, which shows the pixel width and where truncation will fall.

How Crawlpit Monster reports them

Titles and meta descriptions appear as issue groups on the dashboard, and each page's detail view shows its exact title and description with the specific problem flagged. Duplicates are grouped so you can see every page sharing a title at once. The built-in SERP preview shows how a page will look in results.

Common mistakes

• Templated titles that collide. A template like "Product | Store" applied without a unique product name produces dozens of duplicates.
• Keyword stuffing. Cramming repeated keywords into a title reads as spam and can be rewritten by Google.
• Leaving descriptions blank on the assumption Google will fill them in. It sometimes will, but often poorly. Write your own for pages that matter.
• Counting characters, not pixels. Two 58-character titles can truncate differently because wide letters take more space.

Frequently asked questions

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