Title Tag Checklist
For anyone writing or auditing page titles, from a single post to a template across thousands of URLs. Run it when impressions are healthy but clicks are low, or after a content or template change.
- critical
Why and how
- Why it matters
- Missing titles force search engines to generate one from page content or anchor text, often poorly.
- How to check or fix it
- Crawl the site with Screaming Frog and filter the Page Titles tab for 'Missing'. Fix templates first, then individual pages.
- critical
Why and how
- Why it matters
- Duplicate titles make pages hard to tell apart and can signal duplicate or thin content.
- How to check or fix it
- Use the Page Titles > Duplicate filter in Screaming Frog. Differentiate by adding the distinguishing product, location or topic.
- critical
Why and how
- Why it matters
- Users scan the first words, and truncation hits the end of the title first.
- How to check or fix it
- Rewrite titles so the core subject comes before the brand name or modifiers. Avoid starting with generic words.
- important
Why and how
- Why it matters
- Google truncates by pixel width, so long titles lose their ending in results.
- How to check or fix it
- Filter Screaming Frog for 'Over 60 Characters' and 'Over 561 Pixels' as a guide. Treat these as rough limits, not rules.
- important
Why and how
- Why it matters
- A title promising a guide on a product page, or the reverse, creates a mismatch and quick bounces.
- How to check or fix it
- Compare your title format with the top results for the target query. Use words like 'guide', 'pricing' or 'best' only if they fit the page.
- important
Why and how
- Why it matters
- Google rewrites titles it finds misleading, stuffed or unrelated to the page.
- How to check or fix it
- Compare the title with the H1 and opening copy. Compare your title with what Google displays by searching for the exact URL.
- important
Why and how
- Why it matters
- Strings of repeated terms look spammy and invite title rewriting.
- How to check or fix it
- Read each title aloud. Use one concept per title and a single separator before the brand.
- important
Why and how
- Why it matters
- These pages already rank, so a better title is the fastest gain available.
- How to check or fix it
- In the Search Console Performance report, filter by page and sort by impressions. Compare CTR to similar-position pages and test new titles.
- nice
Why and how
- Why it matters
- Frequent rewrites show the title and page content disagree.
- How to check or fix it
- Search for the page with a site: query and compare the shown title with your tag. Adjust the title and H1 to align.
- nice
Why and how
- Why it matters
- A consistent brand suffix builds recognition on branded and repeat searches.
- How to check or fix it
- Set one pattern in your CMS or SEO plugin template. Drop the suffix on pages where the title is already near the limit.
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Common questions
Does Google always use my title tag?
No. Google may replace the title it shows if it finds the tag too long, stuffed, missing or a poor description of the page. A clear, accurate title that agrees with the H1 is shown more often.
How long should a title tag be?
Google uses pixel width rather than a character count, but roughly 50-60 characters usually fits. Put the important words first so truncation costs little.
Do these next
Meta Description Checklist
Audit meta descriptions for uniqueness, length and relevance so search snippets earn more clicks from the pages that already rank.
Heading Structure Checklist
Check H1 to H6 hierarchy, wording and use so readers and crawlers can follow the page outline without guessing.
On-Page SEO Checklist
Work through the page-level elements that decide how a single URL is understood, indexed and shown in search results.