---
title: "Title tag"
description: "Title tag: its role in Google results, how long it can really be, why Google rewrites titles and which settings to check in WordPress."
language: "en"
locale: "en-US"
type: "definition"
canonical: "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/title-tag/"
published: "2026-10-28T08:00:00+00:00"
modified: "2026-10-28T19:59:21+00:00"
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  es-ES: "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/es/glosario/etiqueta-title/index.md"
  de-DE: "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/de/glossar/title-tag/index.md"
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---

# Title tag

The title tag is the HTML element that gives a web page its title. Shown in the browser tab, it is also the main source of the clickable title in search results, which makes it one of the most visible SEO settings on any page.

The title tag lives in the `<head>` section of the HTML code, once per page. It is not displayed in the content itself: you see it in the browser tab, in bookmarks, when a page is shared and, above all, as the clickable line in [search results pages](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/serp/). It is often the very first piece of text from your site that a searcher reads.

```
<head>
  <title>How to limit WordPress login attempts | My site</title>
</head>
```

## Title tag and title link in Google

Google uses the term “title link” for the title shown in its results. It generates it automatically, and the title tag is only one of its sources: it can also draw on the main visible title, the `<h1>` element and other [headings on the page](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/heading-tags/), the `og:title` tag, the text of links pointing to the page, or `WebSite` structured data. Among the cases where it rewrites a title, Google lists half-empty titles, outdated ones (a year that never gets updated), inaccurate ones, identical titles repeated across a series of pages, and titles written in a different language from the content. After a fix, the page has to be crawled and processed again, which can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

## How long should it be?

Google sets no character limit: it simply truncates the title link to fit the width of the screen. The often-quoted “60 characters” rule is therefore just a practical benchmark to keep the essentials visible. Put the important information first and keep the site name, if you include it, at the end.

## Best practices

- **A unique title for each page** that accurately describes its content.
- **Descriptive and concise**: avoid “Home” or “Untitled”, and long lists of keywords.
- **Little boilerplate text**: the same tagline on every page dilutes the title and pushes Google to rewrite it.
- **Consistent with the visible title**: Google recommends making the main title the most prominent text on the page; if the H1 and the title tag tell two different stories, it may prefer the former.
- **Written to earn the click**: the title should match the [search intent](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/search-intent/), not merely contain the keyword.

The title tag works hand in hand with the [meta description](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/meta-description/): the title catches the eye, the description convinces people to click.

## For WordPress

Since WordPress 4.1, a theme that declares support for `title-tag` lets WordPress output the title tag. By default, it combines the post title and the site title (Settings > General). An SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math or All in One SEO then lets you define a template for each content type and a custom SEO title for each page, separate from the displayed title.

Two useful checks: view the source code of a page to make sure there is only one `<title>` tag (an old theme that hardcodes it plus an SEO plugin can produce two), and review the titles of archives, internal search results and paginated pages, which are often forgotten.

## Common mistakes

- The same title on every product page of an online store.
- A title that promises something the page doesn't deliver: visitors leave right away and Google may replace it.
- The brand name at the start of every title, pushing the actual topic out of the visible area.
- Staging titles (“Test”, “Copy of…”) left online and indexed.

## Related terms

- [Meta description](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/meta-description/)
- [Heading tags (H1 to H6)](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/heading-tags/)
- [SERP](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/serp/)
- [Search intent](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/search-intent/)


## Sources

- [Google Search Central : influencer les liens de titre dans les résultats de recherche](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link)
- [WordPress Developer Resources : add_theme_support() et la fonction title-tag](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/add_theme_support/)