Check 10 of 23 · Can AI read the page?

Title and description are filled in

Every page has a hidden title and a one-line description. AI and Google reuse them as your short summary. Leave them blank and the engine writes its own.

  • Who fixes itYou can do this
  • TimeAbout 10 minutes
  • Worth4 of 100 points
  • How sure we areLikely

What this is

Every web page has two short lines that most people never see.

The title is the text on the browser tab. The meta description is a one-sentence summary hidden in the page’s code. Google shows both in search results. AI engines read both when they need a quick summary of who you are.

They are not the same as the big heading on your page. See The page has one main heading for that one.

Why it matters to you

This is a 4-point check, so it is a solid “should have”, not a crisis. When an engine lists you next to competitors, these two lines are the short summary it reuses. If either one is thin or missing, the engine writes its own from whatever it can find, and that is often a menu label or the first sentence of a cookie notice.

What we look for

We read the homepage title and meta description from the HTML.

  • Pass: title is at least 10 characters and the description is at least 50 characters. Full points.
  • Warn: only one of the two meets its minimum. You get 2 of 4 points.
  • Fail: neither does, or both are missing.

The result shows your current title and the length of each so you can see which one is short.

Whether you can fix this yourself

Yes. Every major platform has a field for both, and there is no code needed. This is one of the easiest checks on the list.

How to fix it

Write both lines first. Use the words a buyer would use, not a slogan.

<title>What You Do in Your City | Your Business</title>
<meta name="description" content="One sentence saying what you do, who for, and where. No slogans." />

A good title looks like “Family Counseling in Castle Rock | Meadow Counseling”. A good description looks like “Counseling for couples, teens and families in Castle Rock, Colorado. In person and online. Accepting new clients.”

WordPress

Install or open Yoast SEO or Rank Math. Edit the homepage. Below the editor you will find “SEO title” and “Meta description” fields. Fill both in and update the page.

Squarespace or Wix

Both have a page settings panel with “SEO title” and “SEO description” (or “meta description”) fields for each page. Search your platform’s help for “SEO title” to find the exact spot for your version.

Shopify

Online Store, then Preferences, has “Homepage title” and “Homepage meta description”. Fill in both and save.

Your own site or a developer

Paste the two lines above into the <head> of every page, with real text. Most frameworks have a head or layout component where this lives once.

How to check it worked

Open your homepage. Look at the browser tab. That is your title. For the description, right-click, choose “View page source”, and search for name="description". Then run the free check again.

Do not worry about

Length past the minimum. We only check for 10 or more characters in the title and 50 or more in the description. Around 60 and 150 read well in search results, but that is style, not score.