The <title> tag is the first thing Google reads about your page. It appears in search results, browser tabs, and social shares. Getting it right can make the difference between ranking on page 1 and being invisible.

What makes a good title tag?

A good title tag is:

50-60 characters — Google displays up to ~60 characters. Longer titles get truncated with "..."
Descriptive — Tell the reader exactly what the page is about
Keyword-forward — Put your primary keyword near the beginning
Unique — Every page should have a different title

Title tag format

The most common format is:

<title>Primary Keyword — Supporting Context | Brand</title>

Examples:

Free Website Audit — 200+ Checks in 30 Seconds | PageGrader
How to Fix Slow Page Speed — 10 Proven Techniques | YourBrand

Common mistakes

1. Too long

Google truncates titles after ~60 characters. If your title is 80 characters, users see "..." and miss your key message. Check your title length with a free tool like PageGrader.

2. Too short or generic

Titles like "Home" or "Welcome" waste your most valuable SEO real estate. Be specific about what the page offers.

3. Keyword stuffing

Don't cram multiple keywords: SEO Tool Free SEO Checker Best SEO Audit. Google penalizes this. One primary keyword is enough.

4. Duplicate titles

Every page needs a unique title. If your homepage and about page have the same title, Google doesn't know which to rank.

How to fix your title tag

In HTML, the title tag goes in the <head>:

<head>
  <title>Your Page Title — Your Brand</title>
</head>

In Next.js:

export const metadata = {
  title: "Your Page Title — Your Brand",
};

In WordPress, use an SEO plugin like Yoast or Rank Math to set the title for each page.

Check your title tag now

PageGrader checks your title tag length, uniqueness, and keyword placement as part of its 200+ check audit. Scan your site for free to see if your title tags are optimized.