Title tag
A title tag is the HTML <title> element that names a page. Browsers show it in the tab, and Google uses it as the main source for the clickable headline of a search result, which Google calls the title link. Google rewrites it when it judges the title a poor description of the page.
How does Google choose a title link?
In August 2021 Google introduced a new system for generating titles. It stopped changing titles to match each query and made more use of text people can see on the page. Its sources include the title element, the main visible headline, h1 and other headings, og:title, other prominent text and the anchor text of links pointing to the page.
In September 2021 Google said it used the title element around 87% of the time, up from around 80% before.
Why Google rewrites title tags
- Half-empty titles, where a template leaves out the page name
- Obsolete titles, such as last year's date on a page that has been updated
- Inaccurate titles that don't reflect what the page is about
- Micro-boilerplate: the same title across a set of different pages
- No clear main heading, or a title in a different language from the page
How long should a title tag be?
Google sets no length limit but truncates title links to fit the device width, so put the words that identify the page first. Give every page its own title, keep the brand name short and place it at the start or end after a delimiter. Changes can take from a few days to a few weeks to show, because Google has to recrawl the page.
Example
A retailer's template outputs '| Brand' on product pages where the product name fails to load, and Google rewrites those titles from the h1. Fixing the template so it outputs 'Oak dining table, seats six | Brand' gives Google a title it can use as written.
Related terms
Further reading
Our Organic Search service puts this into practice for brands in the UK and US.
