Meta titles are what show up in the search results within Google (see diagram below). Ideally, each page of your website should be individually tagged with meta data so Google knows exactly what is on each page.
Meta titles (circled in green) play a key role in helping your small business website rank on Google. At GOOP we recommend a maximum of 60 characters for your meta title. It’s always good to use key geographic locations here as well – you will notice the example meta data opens with ‘Geelong Web Developers’.
Meta descriptions (circled in red) – whilst Google gives much less emphasis to meta descriptions for your rankings results they are quite important as the words used here are what may ultimately convince a user to select your website over others listed below or above.
Keep each page limited to one or two keywords but always include specific unique keywords in your meta data to each page on your website. Make each page specific with meta data and do not duplicate words in your meta data. Google is getting much stricter here. Try to use 160 characters or less for your meta description. DO NOT duplicate meta data across pages within the website. Also, remember your meta description is not just about making your site Google friendly, this text is used to compel qualified Google users to visit your site.