Title link
The title of a result in Google Search, which links to the page. Google writes it automatically from sources such as the page's title element and main heading.
A title link is the title of a search result on Google Search that links to the web page (Google Search Central). Google says it’s “often the primary piece of information people use to decide which result to click.”
Google sets title links automatically and can’t change one by hand for your site. It draws on your page’s <title> element, its main visual title and headings, its og:title meta tag and links that point to it, among other sources.
Why Google shows a different title
When Google finds a problem with a <title> element, it may build a better one from other text on the page or links to it. Problems it names include a half-empty title (just | Site Name), an out-of-date year, a title that doesn’t match the page, and the same title on a group of pages. If none apply, Google suggests asking whether its version fits the search better.
Google’s advice for your titles
- Give every page its own descriptive, concise
<title>. In Google’s example, a commerce site that titles every page “Cheap products for sale” makes it “impossible for users to distinguish between two pages.” - There’s no length limit, but Google shortens title links as needed, typically to fit the device width.
- Repeating the same words is keyword stuffing, which Google says can make your results look spammy.
- Put your site name at the start or end of each title, separated by a mark such as a hyphen, colon or pipe.
- Make the main title stand out, for example in the first visible
<h1>.
Google has to recrawl a page to notice a change, which may take a few days to a few weeks. Before you pay for an app to write titles, check whether your platform lets you edit each page’s title.
Related terms
Tools for it
Sources
Updated Oct 12, 2026.