--- title: "Optimize a page for search (SEO title, description, social image)" url: "https://mycommunitysync.com/website-seo-basics" community: "CommunitySync" description: "Set how each page appears in Google and when shared on social — with a live preview and a checklist to guide you." updated: "2026-07-18T18:45:00.616+00:00" --- # Optimize a page for search (SEO title, description, social image) *Website Publishing* Every page on your website can carry its own search title, description, and social share image — the exact things Google shows in results and that appear as a preview card when someone pastes your link into a message or a post. Setting them well is the difference between a page that gets clicked and one that gets scrolled past. This is done page by page in the website editor, and only community owners and admins can do it. ## Open the SEO panel 1. Open the full-screen website editor. If you're not sure how, see [Open the website editor](/open-the-website-editor). 2. In the left icon rail, click the **SEO** tab. 3. Select the page you want to optimize. Each page has its own SEO settings — they are not shared across the site. As you edit, a live **Google preview** updates in real time so you can see roughly how the page will look in search results while you type. ![The SEO panel in the website editor](https://iaktsmonietvbikzietg.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-assets/kb/editor-rail-06-seo.png "Open the SEO tab in the editor's left rail and pick the page you want to optimize.") ## Write a search title The SEO title is the clickable headline Google shows for your page. It's also the text browsers show in the **page's tab**, so it's the most visible label your site has. 1. Enter a title in the **SEO title** field. 2. Aim for **under 60 characters**. A counter warns you when you go over — longer titles get cut off in search results. 3. Lead with the words people would actually search for, and put your community or brand name toward the end. **Leave it blank to use the page name.** If you clear the **SEO title** field, the page automatically falls back to its own name (for example, "Home" or "Listings"). Only fill this in when you want a title different from the page name. ## Write a meta description The meta description is the short blurb under the title in search results. 1. Enter a summary in the **Meta description** field. 2. Aim for **50 to 160 characters** — long enough to be useful, short enough not to be truncated. 3. If you leave it blank, it's automatically drawn from the page's own copy. Writing your own gives you more control over the pitch. ## Choose a social share image The social share image is the picture that appears when your page link is shared on social platforms or in messaging apps. 1. In the **Social share image** field, choose an image. 2. Pick something clear and on-brand — this is the first impression when your link is shared, and a blank card looks unfinished. ## Follow the checklist Below the fields, a checklist scores the page and tells you what's still missing. It looks at: - Title length - Description length - A main heading on the page - A clean page URL - Actual page content - A social share image - A call-to-action Work down the list until each item is satisfied — it's the fastest way to know a page is ready. ## Save your changes 1. Click **Save**. 2. SEO settings save together with the page's theme and go live as soon as you save. ## What happens automatically You don't have to hand-build the technical parts — every page automatically emits the search and social markup and the structured data that Google and social platforms read. A few things worth knowing: - Your **/privacy** and **/terms** pages are generated from your community's legal copy unless you publish your own versions. Either way, search engines can find them. - Add your social links to your site footer. When you do, search engines recognize and associate those profiles with your site. See [Build your footer](/build-your-footer) for where to set them. - Give every image good alt text — it helps both accessibility and search. See [Image alt text](/image-alt-text). ## Troubleshooting ### My page isn't showing up in Google On staging, the site is deliberately hidden from search engines, so pages won't appear in real search results yet. Use the live Google preview in the SEO panel to check how a page will look once the site is public. ### The checklist still shows items as incomplete Each item points to something specific — a missing main heading, thin page content, no social image, or no call-to-action. Fix the flagged item on the page itself, then return to the **SEO** tab; the checklist re-scores as you go. ### My description isn't the text I wrote If the **Meta description** field is blank, the description is auto-drawn from the page's copy. Type your own description into the field and click **Save** to override it. ### My browser tab shows an old or wrong title The **SEO title** is also what browsers display in the page's tab. If a tab (or a search result) shows a name you don't expect — an old draft, or a name carried over when the page was copied from a template — that page has a custom SEO title set. Open the **SEO** tab, **select that specific page**, and edit the **SEO title** field (or clear it to fall back to the page name), then click **Save**. Because SEO is set per page, check the exact page whose tab looks wrong — fixing one page doesn't change the others. ### My changes didn't take effect SEO settings only go live when you click **Save**. Make sure you saved the page after editing, and that you were editing the correct page — SEO is set per page, not for the whole site. ### Website Publishing - [Get your website into Google — Search Console and your sitemap](https://mycommunitysync.com/get-into-google-search-console.md) - [See what Google sees — your page's structured data](https://mycommunitysync.com/see-what-google-sees.md) - [Connect your social profiles to your website — for search engines](https://mycommunitysync.com/social-profiles-search-engines-connect.md) - [Why your site isn't in Google yet — and what actually moves it](https://mycommunitysync.com/why-your-site-is-not-in-google-yet.md) - [Set up redirects for moved or renamed pages](https://mycommunitysync.com/set-up-website-redirects.md) - [Set your website's favicon (browser-tab icon)](https://mycommunitysync.com/set-a-favicon.md) - [Delete and restore your website](https://mycommunitysync.com/delete-and-restore-website.md) - [Take your website live (and how fast changes appear)](https://mycommunitysync.com/take-your-website-live.md) - [Connect a custom domain to your website](https://mycommunitysync.com/connect-a-custom-domain.md) - [What is schema markup — and what your site adds automatically](https://mycommunitysync.com/what-is-schema-markup.md) - [Where FAQ schema works today — and where it doesn't](https://mycommunitysync.com/faq-schema-where-it-works.md)