Search for almost any local business and you'll see the same thing: a blue link that just says "Home", and a grey line underneath that's either empty or a random scrap of text from the page. It's one of the most common problems we see, and one of the quickest to fix.
Those two lines are your page title and your meta description. They're the shop window of your website in Google, and you're in charge of what goes in them.
What they actually are
Your page title is the blue clickable headline in Google. It also shows on the browser tab when someone has your site open. Your meta description is the grey text underneath, a short summary of what's on the page.
Every page on your site can have its own. Your homepage, your menu, your services, your contact page: each one is a separate chance to show up in search.
Why they matter more than you think
Your title is one of the strongest signals Google uses to understand what a page is about. If it just says "Home" or your business name, Google has to guess. If it says what you do and where, you've told it straight.
The description doesn't change your ranking directly, but it changes whether people click. Two businesses can sit side by side in the results. The one that says something useful gets the visit.
Ranking gets you seen. Your title and description get you chosen.
How to write a good title
Lead with what you do and where you do it, then your name. For example: "Barber in Hove | Skin Fades & Beard Trims | Your Name". Keep it to around 55 to 60 characters, or Google will cut the end off.
Give every page a different title that matches what's actually on it. Your contact page shouldn't share a title with your homepage. And write it for a person, not a robot: cramming in "web design Brighton Hove Sussex cheap best" helps nobody.
How to write a good description
Think of it as a two-sentence advert. Say what you offer, where, and give one reason to click: opening hours, free parking, a booking link, an award. Around 150 characters is a good length.
Be specific and honest. "Brunch, coffee and homemade cakes on Worthing seafront, open daily from 8am" beats "Welcome to our website" every time.
Write it like a two-sentence advert, because that's exactly what it is.
Where to change them
Squarespace, Wix, Shopify and most other website builders have an SEO or search settings panel for each page, usually inside the page settings. Look for fields called "SEO title" and "SEO description" or "meta description". If your site was custom built, your web designer can change them in minutes.
Once you've saved them, Google won't update overnight. It picks up changes next time it visits your site, which can take a few days to a couple of weeks. Google also occasionally rewrites titles it doesn't like, which is another reason to make yours clear and accurate.
That's it. Five minutes, no technical knowledge needed, and it's one of the most useful things you can do for your website this year.
If you'd rather someone else sorted it, or your site needs more than a new title, that's what we do. STKR Studio is a small web design studio in Brighton building websites from scratch, with the search setup done properly from day one.