Writing an SEO title: length, examples and improving it automatically

The SEO title is the blue line people click in Google. A good title is 50 to 60 characters long, starts with the search query and gives a reason to click your result in particular. Of all the fields on your site, this is the one where a small change pays off fastest. You usually see a better title in your clicks within two to four weeks.

In the code it is called the title tag. Yoast calls it SEO title, Rank Math SEO Title. Some say meta title or page title. It is all the same field.

Where do you see the SEO title?

In three places.

• In Google, as the clickable line of your search result.
• On the browser tab.
• When shared on LinkedIn or in a text message, if you have not set a separate social title.

You do not see it on the page itself. The large heading at the top of your page is the H1. That may be different. The title has to earn the click in a list of ten competitors. The H1 confirms to the visitor that they are in the right place.

How long can an SEO title be?

Aim for 50 to 60 characters. Google actually measures width: about 600 pixels on a computer. A capital W takes more room than a lowercase i. That is why one 62-character title fits and another 58-character one does not.

What happens if it is too long? Google cuts it off with an ellipsis, or picks another title itself. Either way, you have lost control.

Too short is a waste too. “Services” is 8 characters. You leave 50 characters unused in which you could have said what you do and where.

The structure that almost always works

Search query + city or feature + reason to click | Business name

Not every part always fits. The order is fixed though: most important first.

A locksmith in Houston has a page about lockouts. This is how the title grows.

Version	Title	Characters
Was	Services - Rivera Lock & Key	28
Better	Locked Out in Houston? Rivera Lock & Key	40
Best	Locked Out in Houston? Here in 30 Min, Fixed Price	50

The last version answers the two questions someone has in front of a locked door: how fast and how much. The business name is left out. At that moment nobody searches by name.

Ten examples by industry

Industry	Weak title	Strong title	Characters
Plumber	Home	Plumber in Dallas: 24/7 Service, No Trip Charge	47
Dentist	Treatments	Dentist in Denver: New Patients Welcome, Open Saturdays	55
Driving school	Lessons and prices	Driving Lessons in Phoenix: Trial Lesson and 10-Hour Packs	58
Accountant	Our services	Bookkeeping for Freelancers in Seattle: Flat Monthly Fee	56
Landscaper	Landscaping	Backyard Landscaping in Charlotte: Design and Install	53
Online store	Bike bags	Bike Panniers: 140 Models, Ships Next Day	41
Hair salon	Welcome	Hair Salon in Downtown Austin: Walk-Ins Welcome	47
Physical therapy	Specialties	Physical Therapy for Back Pain in Boise: Seen This Week	55
House painter	Painting	Exterior House Painting in Nashville: Quote in 2 Days	53
Bed and breakfast	Rooms	Cape Cod B&B Near the Beach: 4 Rooms with Breakfast	51

Only put in what is true. “Here in 30 minutes” in your title and still not at the door after an hour costs you more than it brings in.

Six mistakes that happen most

1. The same title on several pages. Google then does not know which page belongs to which question. Every page gets its own title.

2. The business name up front. “Johnson Heating & Cooling LLC | Furnaces” wastes over 30 characters on something nobody searches for.

3. A string of keywords. “Plumber, leak, water heater, drain, Dallas” does not read like a sentence. Google often rewrites such titles.

4. The theme default. WordPress builds a title from the page name and the site name. “Services - My Business” is such a default.

5. A title that promises something the page does not deliver. The visitor clicks, does not see it and goes back to Google.

6. Never looking at it again. A title from 2021 with “new in 2021” in it.

Why Google sometimes rewrites your title

Google adjusts some titles in the search results. That is in its own explanation of title links. The cases Google names:

• the title is half empty, such as only the site name
• the title is outdated, for example with an old year in it
• the title does not match the content of the page
• the title is nearly the same on many pages

Google also advises against stuffing a title with keywords or making it unnecessarily long. When Google adjusts your title, it usually takes your H1 or another heading. So make sure your H1 is good too. A title that is short, unique and honest is almost always left alone.

Setting the SEO title in WordPress

WordPress has no SEO title field of its own. You get it from your SEO plugin. The other settings that matter are in the guide to WordPress SEO.

In Yoast SEO, scroll below your text to the Yoast SEO block. The SEO title contains default variables such as Title, Separator and Site title. Remove them and type your own title. The bar below turns green when the length is right.

In Rank Math, click the Rank Math icon at the top right and then Edit Snippet. There you change the title and see a preview of your result in Google.

No plugin yet? The best WordPress SEO plugins helps you choose. Unsure about Yoast? See Yoast alternative. Write the meta description at the same time. The rules for it are in meta description.

Which pages do you start with?

Not your homepage. And not page 1 of your list.

Open Google Search Console, the Performance report. Click the Pages tab. Turn on Impressions, Clicks and Position. Look for pages with many impressions, a position between 5 and 15, and few clicks.

Google already shows those pages. People just choose another result. A better title can double the clicks there without your position changing. The full method is in improve your SEO.

Note the date of your change. After four weeks, compare the clicks with the four weeks before.

Having AI write your SEO titles

This is a task AI is good at. It is a short text with clear rules.

With ChatGPT. Paste in the text of your page and ask: “Write five title tags of at most 58 characters for this page. The search query is ‘locked out houston’. Put the query up front and name one concrete benefit from the text.” Without the query and the length you get generic titles. More prompts are in ChatGPT for SEO.

With the AI in your plugin. Yoast Premium and Rank Math Content AI suggest a title per page. You pick the page and approve. What each plugin does exactly is in AI plugins for WordPress SEO.

Automatically. Software connected to Search Console picks the pages where a new title pays off most itself. That saves the searching from the previous section.

This is how GreatCompany works. A page called “Why Index Investing Is a Smart Choice. Sitename.com” on one of our test sites became “Why Index Funds Are Often a Better Choice Than Stocks”. The new title says what the page is about.

With GreatCompany Automatic that happens every Monday for the pages that pay off most. The title of your homepage always comes to you for approval first. Every change can be undone with one click. How that works is on GreatCompany for WordPress. What else you can automate is in automating SEO with AI.

Quick check for every title

• Is the search query in the first half?
• Is it shorter than 60 characters?
• Is your city in it, if you work locally?
• Is there a reason to click?
• Is it different from every other title on your site?
• Does it match what is on the page?

Six times yes, and it is good. Want to check all your titles at once? Follow the steps in SEO audit. The weekly rhythm to keep them up is in DIY SEO.

Which titles on your site are leaving clicks on the table?

Join the waitlist. When we open in the US, your free report shows which errors we find on your site, including in your titles and descriptions, and whether ChatGPT names your business or your competitor.