Title tag (meta title)

Where title tags are displayed

1. Featured prominently in the search engine results pages (SERPs) as a clickable headline.
   
   
2. At the top of a user's browser window and acts as a placeholder, especially when a user has several tabs open. Unique and easily recognizable titles with important keywords near the front help ensure that people don’t lose track of our content.
   
   
3. Some external websites — especially social media networks — will use a title tag to determine what to display when the page is shared.

Writing guidance

Title tags should consist of the following elements:

• Be unique, natural, compelling, concise, and direct
  
  
• Motivate users to go to our website
  
  
• Trigger emotions
  
  
• Correspond to search intent
  
  
• Front-load keywords to get searchers’ attention when they scan the SERPs
  
  
• For local SEO, be sure to include location-specific keywords
  
  
• Stand out from the crowd, so change it up by using elements such as:
  
  • Question (what, how, why, etc.)
  • Numeral (tip: don't spell out numbers to keep them scannable)
  • Year
• Be written in title case
  • Articles and prepositions less than 5 words should be lower case
  • Avoid using ALL CAPS
    
  • Spell out the word "and" (avoid using ampersand)
• Include the brand name last, after the vertical pipe. But there are cases (such as the Homepage, About Us, Contact Us, News, or a specific Optum brand) where it makes sense to include the brand near the beginning instead

General title tag templates you can follow:

• Primary Keyword | Brand Name
• Primary Keyword for [insert audience] | Brand Name
• Primary Keyword - Secondary Keyword | Brand Name

SEO impact

• Title tags are major factors in helping search engines understand what a page is about. The title tag by itself has little impact on organic rankings.
  
  
• However, any missing, duplicate, and poorly written title tags can negatively affect SEO results. Even if a page ranks well, a good title can determine whether someone clicks on our link or not.

Character considerations

• Maximum length: under 60 characters (575 pixels)
  • Display titles in Google results have a 600-pixel width limit, but most are truncated before that at the nearest word break. This is why it's recommended to keep titles under 60 characters.
    
• Minimum length: 30 characters (285 pixels)
  
  
• If you can't get the title tag down to under 60 characters without harming readability, you can go a bit longer. Search engine crawlers will take into account the entire title tag when they crawl the page, even if it’s not displayed in full in the SERPs. But again, anything after 60 characters is typically truncated.
  
  
• If the SERP is displaying a different title tag than what you wrote, that means Google's algorithm changed it. A recent study showed that Google rewrites title tags 61% of the time! Here are some likely explanations to guide you in crafting a new one:
  • Title is keyword-stuffed
  • Title is too long or too short
  • Title has relevance issues
  • Title contains brackets [ ]
  • Title is the same as other pages

Free title tag tools

Google Preview Tool

With this tool, you can see how your title will look in the SERPs for desktop and mobile, and if it's under the recommended 60 characters length. Just enter your title tag into the "Page Title" field. You also have the option of entering a URL to see what the metadata of that page looks like in the SERPs.

Test your title tag >

Headline Analyzer Tool

If you're stuck on crafting a clickworthy title tag or want to analyze an existing one, try out this free tool. It can offer you tips on writing title tags that drive traffic, shares and rank better in search results. This is particularly helpful for blogs and articles. Enter the title tag and click on "Analyze." It will provide you with word balance, word count, power words, common words, sentiment, headline length and more. Aim for an overall score of 70 or better.

Analyze your title tag >