Title tags: how Google picks the title link

This guide is built from Google Search Central, mainly Influencing your title links in search results and two Search Central blog posts from 2021 on how Google generates titles (August and September), with notes from MDN and WCAG. For where titles sit among the other SEO basics, see our SEO basics for small businesses.

Title element and title link

Two different things share the word "title". The <title> element sits in the page's <head>; MDN describes it as "the document's title that is shown in a browser's title bar or a page's tab." The title link is what Google shows: "the title of a search result on Google Search and other properties (for example, Google News) that links to the web page." Google's SEO Starter Guide notes the same title text "can also be used for the title that's shown in browsers and bookmarks."

Google says the title link is "often the primary piece of information people use to decide which result to click." The title also matters off Google. WCAG success criterion 2.4.2 (Level A) asks that web pages "have titles that describe topic or purpose", and MDN explains why: "A common navigation technique for users of assistive technology is to read the page title and infer the content the page contains."

Where Google takes the title link from

Google calls the process "completely automated". It looks at the page and at references to it on the web. Its documentation lists these sources:

• Content in <title> elements
• The main visual title shown on the page
• Heading elements, such as <h1> elements
• Content in og:title meta tags
• Other content that's large and prominent through style treatments
• Other text on the page
• Anchor text on the page
• Text within links that point to the page
• WebSite structured data

The title element is still the main source. In September 2021 Google wrote that title elements "are now used around 87% of the time, rather than around 80% before." The August 2021 post also explains that before the change, titles "might change based on the query issued", and that this "generally will no longer happen." Google adds that it "can't manually change title links for individual sites", so the only lever you have is the page itself.

Writing a title Google keeps

Google's best practices for the <title> element, in short:

• Every page has one. Google asks you to "make sure every page on your site has a title specified in the <title> element."
• Descriptive and concise. Avoid vague labels like "Home" or "Profile", and avoid "unnecessarily long or verbose text."
• No hard length limit, but truncation. Google says "there's no limit on how long a <title> element can be", but the title link "is truncated in Google Search results as needed, typically to fit the device width." MDN's rule of thumb is that search engines "typically display about the first 55–60 characters", so put the important words first.
• No keyword stuffing. A few descriptive terms help; repeating the same words or phrases "can make your results look spammy to Google and to users."
• No boilerplate. Each page needs distinct text. Titling every product page "Cheap products for sale" makes them impossible to tell apart, and long templates that change by one word are "also bad".
• Brand concisely. The home page can carry a longer description of the site. On other pages Google suggests just the site name "at the beginning or end", separated by a hyphen, colon or pipe.
• Same language and script as the page. If the title doesn't match the page's main language or writing system, Google "may choose a different text as the title link."

One special case: Google says its systems "will likely not show price information when generating title links for flight pages", because flight prices change too often to stay accurate.

MDN adds an accessibility point that affects the order of parts. Titles should surface "the primary purpose of the page first, followed by the name of the website", so a screen reader announces the topic before the brand on every page a user opens.

Make the main heading obvious

Because Google reads the visible page as well as the <head>, the main heading counts. Google says "it can be confusing if multiple headings carry the same visual weight and prominence", and if it finds several large, prominent headings "it may use the first heading as the text for the title link." Its advice is to make the main title stand out, for example "using a larger font, putting the title text in the first visible <h1> element on the page." When the <title> and the <h1> say roughly the same thing, Google has no conflict to resolve.

Blocking a page in robots.txt takes your own text out of the picture. If Google can't read the page but finds a link to it elsewhere, Google says it "will rely on off-page content to generate the title link, such as anchor text from other sites." To keep a URL out of results, use noindex instead.

Why Google rewrote your title

When the title link differs from your <title>, Google says it has usually "detected an issue on the page". The common issues it lists:

Issue	What it looks like	What Google does
Half-empty title	Part of the text is missing, such as "| Site Name", often from a template.	Fills the gap from headings or other prominent text: "Product Name | Site Name".
Obsolete title	A yearly page still says "2020" while the visible heading says "2021".	Uses the date from the visible title.
Inaccurate title	A static title naming products that a dynamic page doesn't always show.	Shortens it to what the page reliably covers.
Micro-boilerplate	A group of pages share one title, such as season pages of a TV show without season numbers.	Inserts the missing detail from the page's headline.
No clear main title	Two or more headings with the same styling or level.	May use the first heading.
Language or script mismatch	A Hindi page with an English or transliterated title.	May generate a title that matches the main content.
Site name repeated	The site name in the title duplicates the site name already shown in the result.	May drop it from the title link.

Google's own conclusion from the 2021 posts: "Making changes may help ensure your title element is again used. That's really our preference, as well." If none of the issues apply, its documentation suggests you "consider whether the title link in search results is a better fit for the query."

Checking and fixing titles

1. See what Google shows. Search for the page and compare the title link with your <title> and <h1>.
2. Find the pages that matter. In Search Console's Performance report, the Pages tab shows clicks, impressions and CTR per URL; Google says you can use it to "see which pages have the highest (and lowest) click-through rate." Our Performance report guide walks through the filters.
3. Fix the cause. Work through the table above: fill half-empty templates, update dates, give grouped pages distinct titles, make one heading the obvious main title.
4. Ask for a recrawl. Google needs to recrawl the page to notice changes, which "may take a few days to a few weeks." For a few URLs, use the URL Inspection tool; Google notes there's a quota and that requesting a recrawl several times "won't get it crawled any faster." For many URLs, submit a sitemap.

Google doesn't take requests to change individual title links. For feedback it points site owners to the Search Central Help Community.

Site names and og:title

The name above the title link in a result is the site name, a separate system. Google says it "is different from the per-page title links" and takes its preference from WebSite structured data on the home page; see our guide to your favicon and site name in Google. The og:title tag is one of the sources Google lists for title links, but its main job is the preview when a link is shared on social media, covered in our guide to link previews and Open Graph tags. The text under the title link is the snippet, which sometimes comes from your meta description; see our guide to meta descriptions. If your pages are built with a JavaScript framework, make sure the title is in the rendered page; our JavaScript SEO guide explains how Google renders it.

Our view: how we write titles

This part is our own practice, not Google's guidance. On sites we build, each page gets its own title written by hand, with the topic first and the business name last on inner pages, and we keep it to about 60 characters so the important part survives truncation. The <h1> says the same thing in slightly fuller words, and there's only one heading at that size. For templated pages, such as products, locations or articles, we check that the template can't produce an empty or repeated title. After a launch or redesign, we compare titles in search results with our own for the main pages and fix any that Google has rewritten.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Google showing a different title for my page?

Google builds title links automatically from the <title> element, headings, prominent text, og:title, links and more. It usually changes the title when it detects an issue, such as a half-empty, outdated, inaccurate or repeated title, or several equally prominent headings.

How long should a title tag be?

Google sets no limit but truncates title links to fit the device width. MDN notes search engines typically display about the first 55 to 60 characters, so put the most important words first.

Should I put my business name in every title?

Google suggests a concise site name at the beginning or end of each title, separated by a hyphen, colon or pipe. MDN recommends the page's purpose first and the site name after it, which helps screen reader users.

Can I ask Google to use my title tag?

No. Google says it can't manually change title links for individual sites. Fix the issues it looks for, then request a recrawl with the URL Inspection tool or a sitemap.

How long until a new title shows in Google?

Google has to recrawl and reprocess the page first, which it says may take a few days to a few weeks.

For more on search, see our guides to SEO basics for small businesses, structured data, Google Search Console and the website launch checklist. We build and maintain sites through our website development service.