A page title is the text defined by a page’s <title> tag. It shows up in three places at once: the browser tab, the bold headline of your result in search listings, and the preview when a link is shared. Most visitors judge a search result by its title before they read anything else.
What goes wrong
A page can be missing a title entirely, which leaves search engines to guess at a headline on your behalf. A title can also be too short to say anything meaningful, or too long, in which case search engines cut it off mid-sentence in the results.
- Describes the specific page, not just the site name
- Stays roughly 30–60 characters so it isn’t cut off in search results
- Puts the most important words first
A title that’s too long doesn’t just look cut off — it can quietly signal to a visitor that a page isn’t quite finished.