5 Common Title Tag Mistakes…And How To Fix Them

Title tags are the headings that outline the title and message of your web page to the world. These HTML elements are known as page titles or SEO titles, and are the first thing displayed in your search engine result – making it very important that you use clear titles your users will immediately understand. Find out some of the common title tag mistakes that may flag in an audit of your site, and how to fix them below:

Duplicate title tag

If more than one page has the same title tag, then you’ll be seeng the error ‘duplicate title tag’. Each page should have a unique title that summarises to the audience exactly what to expect in the content of that page. Make sure that every title tag is different.

Title element too long  

Title tags should be shorter than 70 characters. Longer titles can be confusing to your audience and search engines, and mean that the valuable, concise message of your page is lost. Make sure your title tag is more concise.

Title element too short

If your title tag has less than 40 characters it will be flagged. Titles are important to help users and search engines understand the content on the page – a title that it too short may not have the necessary information to do so.

Title tag is missing or empty

If you’ve forgotten to include a title tag you’ll see the error ‘title tag is missing or empty’. Make sure to go back and insert a relevant title for your page.

Duplicate content in H1 and title tag  

Your title tag and H1 (heading) tag should be different, although you can keep the search terms relatively similar. Whilst your title tag should primarily focus on search engines, a heading tag allows you to embellish slightly to help users understand your message.

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