Title tag

People often pick a result by its headline. Google calls that headline the title link and builds it automatically from several sources: the title element, the main heading on the page, other prominent text and the words other sites use when they link to you.

Google's advice for a good title: unique to the page, clear and concise, and a fair description of what is on it. For a local business that can mean the service, the town and the name, for example "Sports massage in Leeds | Northside Physio". Avoid vague titles such as Home.

There is no character limit, but Google shortens the title link to fit the screen, so put the words that matter first.

Most website builders turn the page title you type into the title element, so you change it in the page settings, not in the code. Our free website audit checklist covers the other checks on the same pages.

1. Search Google for your business name and for your main service, and read the headline of your results. If it differs from your title, Google took the text from elsewhere.
2. View the source of each important page and search for title. Each page needs its own, describing that page and not only the business name.
3. In Search Console, open Performance, then Search results, and the Pages tab. Pages with many impressions and a low CTR are the first titles to reread.

Google rewrites the title link when it finds a problem with the title element. The most common ones it lists:

• Half-empty titles, such as only the site name after a separator.
• Outdated titles, for example last year's date.
• Titles that don't describe the page.
• The same title on many pages.
• Several headings of the same size, so the main title is unclear.