Writing title tags that earn clicks
The title tag is the single most important piece of on-page metadata. It is the clickable headline in search results, the label on a browser tab, and the default text when somebody bookmarks or shares the page.
What it is
The title tag sits in the head of the document and is not visible on the page itself. It is distinct from the H1 heading, though the two often say similar things.
Search engines treat it as a strong statement of what the page is about, and frequently, though not always, use it verbatim as the result headline.
Why length matters
Google truncates result headlines at roughly 600 pixels, which works out at about 60 characters for most text. Beyond that the title is cut with an ellipsis and your closing words are lost.
Titles under about 30 characters are usually a wasted opportunity: there is room to say more about what the page offers, and a bare business name rarely matches what somebody typed into a search box.
ppclift flags any title outside 30 to 60 characters, and treats a missing title as a far more serious fault than a badly sized one.
How to fix it
- Give every page its own title. Duplicate titles across a site make it impossible for a search engine to tell the pages apart.
- Lead with the specific thing the page is about, and put the business name at the end.
- Include the location if you serve a local area. 'Emergency Plumber Ballarat' beats 'Home' by a wide margin.
- Write for a person deciding whether to click, not for a keyword counter.
What good looks like
<!-- Weak -->
<title>Home</title>
<!-- Better: specific, local, and within length -->
<title>Emergency Plumber in Ballarat | Watson Plumbing</title>Common mistakes
- Using the same title on every page, most often just the business name.
- Stuffing in keywords until the title reads like a list rather than a sentence.
- Leaving a content management system default such as 'Home' or 'Untitled' in place.
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