Search and measurement
Titles, headings and links: a page checklist
Search engines and readers use the same few signals to understand a page. This checklist shows what to write for each, with examples of weak and clear versions.
Most of what Google recommends for individual pages comes down to saying clearly what each page is. This checklist covers the places where that happens.
The title
The title is the name of the page. It appears in browser tabs and often as the headline of a search result. Google’s guidance:
- every page has a title;
- it describes what is on that page, so “Home” and “Page 2” are not enough;
- it is distinct from other pages’ titles;
- it is short enough to read in a result, and Google may shorten long ones;
- it does not repeat the same words, and the site name appears with restraint.
Google also says it may rewrite a title that is empty, inaccurate or out of step with the page.
| Weak | Clear |
|---|---|
| Home | Hex bolts and socket screws, Ludhiana: Sharma Fasteners |
| Products | Stainless steel anchor bolts: sizes and grades |
| Best website developer cheap website cheap | Website packages and what each includes |
The first column is made up. The aim is a title a person would understand at a glance.
The description
The description is the text under the title in some results. Google builds snippets from the page’s own content and may use the description when it summarises the page better. It does not say descriptions are ranking factors. Write a unique description for each page, as a clear summary of the whole page, without a list of keywords.
The main heading
Each page should have one main heading, visible at the top, that matches what the page is about. It is for the reader first. A strong main heading and a strong title often say the same thing in different words.
Subheadings
Use subheadings to break a page into parts a reader can scan: each one a question the page answers, or a step. Google says it does not care whether headings are in a strict order, and that there is no ideal number. They are for people. A page of text with no subheadings is hard to read on a phone.
Link text
Links should say where they lead. Google’s guidance is to use normal links with a real address, and descriptive words inside the link.
| Weak | Clear |
|---|---|
| Click here | See the three website packages |
| Read more | How to read a website quote |
| https://site/p?id=44 as the visible text | Product data sheet, PDF |
Each important page should be linked from at least one other page, placed where it helps the reader. There is no ideal number of links per page, and crowding many links together is a warning sign. Do not stuff links with the same words.
Images
Give each meaningful image a short alt text that describes what it shows. Decorative images can have empty alt text. Images with text in them hide that text from search engines and screen readers, so keep important text in the page.
Check one page
- Is the title unique and clear?
- Does the description summarise this page?
- Does it have one main heading that matches?
- Can a reader scan the subheadings and know what the page covers?
- Do links use descriptive words and real addresses?
- Does every meaningful image have alt text?
- Does the page say something no other page says?
What this will and will not do
These are the foundations. Google does not promise that doing them will make a page rank, and it asks for helpful, people-first content above all. They remove avoidable obstacles. For how I handle them, see the notes on SEO foundations and sitemaps and canonical addresses.