Title in Google does not match of document</a></h1> </div> <div class="grid fw-wrap pb8 mb16 bb bc-black-075"> <div class="grid--cell ws-nowrap mr16 mb8" title="2016-01-12 19:07:53Z"> <span class="fc-light mr2">Asked</span> <time itemprop="dateCreated" datetime="2014-07-07T17:36:02.633" class="fromnow">Jul 07 '14 at 17:36</time> </div> <div class="grid--cell ws-nowrap mr16 mb8"> <span class="fc-light mr2">Active</span> <time class="fromnow" title="2014-09-14T19:22:10.340" datetime="2014-09-14T19:22:10.340">Sep 14 '14 at 19:22</a> </div> <div class="grid--cell ws-nowrap mb8" title="Viewed 8,521 times"> <span class="fc-light mr2">Viewed</span> 8,521 times </div> </div> <div id="mainbar" role="main" aria-label="questions and answers"> <div id="question" class="question" data-questionid="65767" data-ownerid="42065" data-score="3"> <div class="post-layout"> <div class="votecell post-layout--left"> <div class="js-voting-container grid jc-center fd-column ai-stretch gs4 fc-black-200" data-post-id="65767"> <button class="js-vote-up-btn grid--cell s-btn s-btnunset c-pointer"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="m0 svg-icon iconArrowUpLg" width="36" height="36" viewBox="0 0 36 36"><path d="M2 26h32L18 10 2 26z"></path></svg></button> <div class="js-vote-count grid--cell fc-black-500 fs-title grid fd-column ai-center" itemprop="upvoteCount" data-value="3">3</div> <button class="js-bookmark-btn s-btn s-btnunset c-pointer py4"> <svg aria-hidden="true" class="svg-icon iconBookmark" width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 18 18"><path d="M6 1a2 2 0 00-2 2v14l5-4 5 4V3a2 2 0 00-2-2H6zm3.9 3.83h2.9l-2.35 1.7.9 2.77L9 7.59l-2.35 1.7.9-2.76-2.35-1.7h2.9L9 2.06l.9 2.77z"></path></svg> <div class="js-bookmark-count mt4" data-value=""></div> </button> </div> </div> <div class="postcell post-layout--right"> <div class="s-prose js-post-body" itemprop="text"><p>One of my project's title tag doesn't appear to be getting crawled by Google properly. The title tag of the home page reads:</p> <pre><code><title>Grande Prairie Jobs | Job Board for Grande Prairie, Alberta and Area</title> </code></pre> <p>Google, on the other hand, indexes the title as <code>gpjobs.ca</code>. <img alt="Screenshot" src="../../images/5674aa5cbaf2029088a7ab47a32b8e89.webp"/></p> <p>Is there something I'm doing wrong here? Any insight would be really helpful. </p> <p>One thing, the first of the document is <code>gpjobs</code>. Could this be causing the incorrect title? I guess I just don't understand why Google would index it with the <code><h1></code> rather than the <code><title></code>.</p> <p><strong>Edit:</strong> To clarify for whoever marked this question as a duplicate of <a href="../../questions/8710/google-doesn-t-seem-to-update-the-description-or-title-of-my-homepage">this one</a>, my site actually had a landing page where Google indexed it correctly. After launching the site and submitting a sitemap, Google has indexed the title as above. What I'm trying to establish and correct, is why the site has an indexed title of the first <code>h1</code> on the page and not the <code>title</code>. I expected the <code>title</code> to be picked up.</p> </div> <div class="mt24 mb12"> <div class="post-taglist grid gs4 gsy fd-column"> <div class="grid ps-relative"> <a href="../../questions/tagged/seo|google-search|title" class="post-tag js-gps-track" title="show questions tagged 'seo|google-search|title'" rel="tag">seo|google-search|title</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mb0"> <div class="mt16 grid gs8 gsy fw-wrap jc-end ai-start pt4 mb16"> <div class="grid--cell mr16 fl1 w96"></div> <div class="post-signature grid--cell"> <div class="s-user-card s-user-card"> <time class="s-user-card--time" datetime="edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:33">edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:33</time> <a href="../../users/-1/community" class="s-avatar s-avatar32 s-user-card--avatar"> <img class="s-avatar--image" src="../../users/profiles/-1.webp" data-jdenticon-width="32" data-jdenticon-height="32" data-jdenticon-value="Community" /> </a> <div class="s-user-card--info"> <a href="../../users/-1/community" class="s-user-card--link">Community</a> <ul class="s-user-card--awards"> <li class="s-user-card--rep" title="reputation score">1</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-signature owner grid--cell"> <div class="s-user-card s-user-card"> <time class="s-user-card--time" datetime="asked Jul 07 '14 at 17:36">asked Jul 07 '14 at 17:36</time> <a href="../../users/42065/toddsmithsalter" class="s-avatar s-avatar32 s-user-card--avatar"> <img class="s-avatar--image" src="../../users/profiles/42065.webp" data-jdenticon-width="32" data-jdenticon-height="32" data-jdenticon-value="ToddSmithSalter" /> </a> <div class="s-user-card--info"> <a href="../../users/42065/toddsmithsalter" class="s-user-card--link">ToddSmithSalter</a> <ul class="s-user-card--awards"> <li class="s-user-card--rep" title="reputation score">131</li> <li class="s-award-bling s-award-blingsilver" title="1 silver badges">1</li> <li class="s-award-bling s-award-blingbronze" title="4 bronze badges">4</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-layout--right js-post-comments-component"> <div id="comments-65767" class="comments js-comments-container bt bc-black-075 mt12 " data-post-id="65767" data-min-length="15"> <ul class="comments-list js-comments-list" data-remaining-comments-count="0" data-canpost="false" data-cansee="true" data-comments-unavailable="false" data-addlink-disabled="true"> <li id="comment-72406" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72406" data-comment-owner-id="1243" data-comment-score="1"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> <span title="number of 'useful comment' votes received" class="warm">1</span> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72406_65767"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">Just to note, Google won't necessarily use the contents of the title tag in the SERPs, even when things are working as expected. The title in the SERPs can be customised to what the user is searching for, which makes me wonder what you are searching for to get the results you are seeing? In fact, if I search for <code>gpjobs.ca</code> I see the same results as you (a title of just "gpjobs"). However, if I search for <code>site:gpjobs.ca</code> I see the very same page in the search results with the full page title "Grande Prairie Jobs | Job Board ...etc." </span> – <a href="../../users/1243/mrwhite" title="42,784 reputation" class="comment-user ">MrWhite</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72406_65767"><span title="2014-07-07T20:49:00.583 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 07 '14 at 20:49</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72427" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72427" data-comment-owner-id="12183" data-comment-score="0"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72427_65767"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">If you searched for either the domain name or the brand name (presumably gpjobs), then 9 times out of 10, Google will show the domain name or the brand name as the page title for those search queries. </span> – <a href="../../users/12183/zigojacko" title="5,072 reputation" class="comment-user ">zigojacko</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72427_65767"><span title="2014-07-08T09:05:06.707 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 08 '14 at 09:05</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72510" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72510" data-comment-owner-id="42065" data-comment-score="0"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72510_65767"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">You may be correct @w3d. I believe I was searching for <code>gpjobs.ca</code> and seeing that result. Looks like my issue is positioning and not SEO. Thanks! </span> – <a href="../../users/42065/toddsmithsalter" title="131 reputation" class="comment-user owner">ToddSmithSalter</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72510_65767"><span title="2014-07-09T19:16:06.200 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 09 '14 at 19:16</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="answers"> <a name="tab-top"></a> <div id="answers-header"> <div class="answers-subheader grid ai-center mb8"> <div class="grid--cell fl1"> <h2 class="mb0" data-answercount="9">1 Answers<span style="display:none;" itemprop="answerCount">1</span></h2> </div> </div> </div> <a name="65768"></a> <div id="answer-65768" class="answer " data-answerid="65768" data-ownerid="36029" data-score="6" itemprop="suggestedAnswer" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer"> <div class="post-layout"> <div class="votecell post-layout--left"> <div class="js-voting-container grid jc-center fd-column ai-stretch gs4 fc-black-200" data-post-id="65768"> <button class="js-vote-up-btn grid--cell s-btn s-btnunset c-pointer"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="m0 svg-icon iconArrowUpLg" width="36" height="36" viewBox="0 0 36 36"><path d="M2 26h32L18 10 2 26z"></path></svg></button> <div class="js-vote-count grid--cell fc-black-500 fs-title grid fd-column ai-center" itemprop="upvoteCount" data-value="6">6</div> </div> </div> <div class="postcell post-layout--right"> <div class="s-prose js-post-body" itemprop="text"><p>This is an easy one. Your title tag is too long.</p> <p>Prior to the recent Google font size change in the SERPs, the rule was to have a <code>title</code> tag no longer than 55 characters. With the font change, I am assuming about 45 characters, though that may not be a precise answer.</p> <p>If a <code>title</code> tag is too long, Google will make one up. You want to avoid this as much as possible. As well, if the <code>title</code> tag is too short, Google may pick up the <code>H1</code> tag. It is a delicate balancing act. One that irritates me. What was wrong the the ellipsis (...)? If you chose a <code>title</code> tag that is just right in length, Google will use it verbatim. Otherwise, Google may brand your site with <code>- domain.com</code>. What appears in your case is that Google used your domain name less the TLD. This happens too.</p> <p>Keep in mind that all characters need to be counted including spaces and special characters.</p> <p>I would recommend a title tag 40-45 characters (plus or minus).</p> <p>Update:</p> <p>Moz Article: <a class="external-link" href="http://moz.com/learn/seo/title-tag" rel="noreferrer">http://moz.com/learn/seo/title-tag</a></p> <blockquote> <p>Google typically displays the first 50-60 characters of a title tag... If you keep your titles under 55 characters, you can expect at least 95% of your titles to display properly.</p> </blockquote> <p>Search Engine Land Article: <a class="external-link" href="http://searchengineland.com/advanced-seo-learning-experiments-using-googles-title-tag-changes-example-189850" rel="noreferrer">http://searchengineland.com/advanced-seo-learning-experiments-using-googles-title-tag-changes-example-189850</a></p> <blockquote> <p>The new character count suggestion is 55 to 60 characters.</p> <p>Sometimes, Google creates a completely new title for their SERPs than a page’s actual title tag.</p> <p>Quoting Google: If we’ve detected that a particular result has [...] issues with its title, we may try to generate an improved title from anchors, on-page text, or other sources.</p> </blockquote> <p>Google Article: <a class="external-link" href="https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35624?hl=en" rel="noreferrer">https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35624?hl=en</a></p> <blockquote> <p>We use a number of different sources for this information, including descriptive information in the title and meta tags for each page. We may also use publicly available information—for instance, anchor text or listings from the Open Directory Project (DMOZ)—or create rich snippets based on markup on the page.</p> <p>...we may try to generate an improved title from anchors, on-page text, or other sources.</p> </blockquote> <p>Vertical Measures Article: <a class="external-link" href="http://www.verticalmeasures.com/search-optimization/time-to-rethink-title-tag-strategy-again/" rel="noreferrer">http://www.verticalmeasures.com/search-optimization/time-to-rethink-title-tag-strategy-again/</a></p> <blockquote> <p>After March 2014: Google rolled out new SERP layout complete with larger text and additional CSS font treatment. You can no longer hold to the time-tested guideline of 65-70 characters. Title length is now determined by 512 pixels (or roughly hewn down to 55 characters).</p> </blockquote> <p>Moz Forum: <a class="external-link" href="http://moz.com/community/q/google-sets-brand-domain-name-at-the-end-of-serp-titles" rel="noreferrer">http://moz.com/community/q/google-sets-brand-domain-name-at-the-end-of-serp-titles</a></p> <blockquote> <p>I am experiencing that Google puts our domain name at the end of the titles in SERPs.</p> </blockquote> <p>Moz Forum: <a class="external-link" href="http://moz.com/community/q/google-automatically-adding-company-name-to-serp-titles" rel="noreferrer">http://moz.com/community/q/google-automatically-adding-company-name-to-serp-titles</a></p> <blockquote> <p>Maybe I've been living under a rock, but I was surprised to see that Google had algorithmically modified my page titles in the search results by adding the company name to the end of the (short) title.</p> <p>Sometimes they add your URL to the end of a title tag.</p> </blockquote> <p>Moz Article: <a class="external-link" href="http://moz.com/blog/long-title-tags" rel="noreferrer">http://moz.com/blog/long-title-tags</a></p> <blockquote> <p>In short: When your title tag is too long, instead of simply truncating it and adding an ellipsis to the end the way they used to, Google is trying to algorithmically determine a better title for the post.</p> <p>Trigger alt title when HTML title is truncated. [launch codename "tomwaits", project codename "Snippets"] We have algorithms designed to present the best possible result titles. This change will show a more succinct title for results where the current title is so long that it gets truncated. We'll only do this when the new, shorter title is just as accurate as the old one.</p> </blockquote> <p><em>So what have I proven?</em></p> <blockquote> <p>Google no longer uses a character count to truncate titles in SERPs opting for a pixel length.</p> <p>Google DOES truncate longer titles that result in ellipsis and has since 2012.</p> <p>The standard advice is no longer than 55 characters- 50 if you have wide characters such as G, H, K, and so on. The title limit can be as short as 45 characters.</p> <p>Google will use the H1 tag and other elements including content and DMOZ listings for the title in the SERPs.</p> <p>Google will automatically brand a title in the SERPs. If you want proof of this just do a site: for my website and see for yourself.</p> </blockquote> <p>Further Update: It appears that the ellipsis has returned in the U.S. shortly after this posted answer.</p> </div> <div class="mb0"> <div class="mt16 grid gs8 gsy fw-wrap jc-end ai-start pt4 mb16"> <div class="grid--cell mr16 fl1 w96"></div> <div class="post-signature grid--cell"> <div class="s-user-card s-user-card"> <time class="s-user-card--time" datetime="edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:32">edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:32</time> <a href="../../users/-1/community" class="s-avatar s-avatar32 s-user-card--avatar"> <img class="s-avatar--image" src="../../users/profiles/-1.webp" data-jdenticon-width="32" data-jdenticon-height="32" data-jdenticon-value="Community" /> </a> <div class="s-user-card--info"> <a href="../../users/-1/community" class="s-user-card--link">Community</a> <ul class="s-user-card--awards"> <li class="s-user-card--rep" title="reputation score">1</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-signature grid--cell"> <div class="s-user-card s-user-card"> <time class="s-user-card--time" datetime="answered Jul 07 '14 at 17:53">answered Jul 07 '14 at 17:53</time> <a href="../../users/36029/closetnoc" class="s-avatar s-avatar32 s-user-card--avatar"> <img class="s-avatar--image" src="../../users/profiles/36029.webp" data-jdenticon-width="32" data-jdenticon-height="32" data-jdenticon-value="closetnoc" /> </a> <div class="s-user-card--info"> <a href="../../users/36029/closetnoc" class="s-user-card--link">closetnoc</a> <ul class="s-user-card--awards"> <li class="s-user-card--rep" title="reputation score">32,849</li> <li class="s-award-bling s-award-blinggold" title="4 gold badges">4</li> <li class="s-award-bling s-award-blingsilver" title="45 silver badges">45</li> <li class="s-award-bling s-award-blingbronze" title="69 bronze badges">69</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-layout--right js-post-comments-component"> <div id="comments-65768" class="comments js-comments-container bt bc-black-075 mt12 " data-post-id="65768" data-min-length="15"> <ul class="comments-list js-comments-list" data-remaining-comments-count="0" data-canpost="false" data-cansee="true" data-comments-unavailable="false" data-addlink-disabled="true"> <li id="comment-72390" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72390" data-comment-owner-id="42065" data-comment-score="0"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72390_65768"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">That is very interesting, but not sure that holds weight. For example, this http://on.centerdrive.ca/GEud has ~64 characters in the title. What if the actual cause is a content conflict between the <code>title</code> and the <code>H1</code>? </span> – <a href="../../users/42065/toddsmithsalter" title="131 reputation" class="comment-user owner">ToddSmithSalter</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72390_65768"><span title="2014-07-07T18:00:19.293 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 07 '14 at 18:00</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72395" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72395" data-comment-owner-id="36029" data-comment-score="0"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72395_65768"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">I do not see the page you cited in the Google SERPs. Please also understand that there are different data centers that may behave differently because they are not fully updated. I have seen the ellipsis on other data centers. Title tags and H1 tags should not be the same. If they are, performance suffers and the H1 tag will not replace the title tag. How Google decides to use what it uses is not exactly clear. But what I told you is true. I have tested these rules after the ellipsis disappeared. Also, you will find SEO websites echoing the same advice almost verbatim. </span> – <a href="../../users/36029/closetnoc" title="32,849 reputation" class="comment-user ">closetnoc</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72395_65768"><span title="2014-07-07T18:16:33.103 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 07 '14 at 18:16</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72398" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72398" data-comment-owner-id="1243" data-comment-score="2"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> <span title="number of 'useful comment' votes received" class="warm">2</span> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72398_65768"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">I don't think it's as simple as the title tag being too long. Take this very page as an example (and most other pages on Pro Webmasters for that matter)... This page has a title tag of 91 chars and it appears as-is in the SERPS (at least as much as will fit), chopped at 57 chars, followed by an ellipsis. In the results that I'm seeing, Google is showing anywhere between 54 and 64 chars (max) in the SERPs (depending on chars used and word breaks). </span> – <a href="../../users/1243/mrwhite" title="42,784 reputation" class="comment-user ">MrWhite</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72398_65768"><span title="2014-07-07T19:00:19.907 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 07 '14 at 19:00</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72413" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72413" data-comment-owner-id="36029" data-comment-score="0"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72413_65768"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">@w3d With respect. I know that you are excellent. In fact, I love your answers more than anyone. But didn't I say that some data centers still use the ellipsis? It all depends upon the data center. You and I are looking at different data centers being in the US and UK. Yes some data centers still follow the old rules which I prefer. I mentioned that- I am sure of it! But here, not so much. 45 maybe 50 characters is about where you can magically manage the SERPs here. This is a cold hard fact, again, that can be confirmed by some well known SEO sites. </span> – <a href="../../users/36029/closetnoc" title="32,849 reputation" class="comment-user ">closetnoc</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72413_65768"><span title="2014-07-07T22:36:19.260 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 07 '14 at 22:36</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72426" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72426" data-comment-owner-id="12183" data-comment-score="1"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> <span title="number of 'useful comment' votes received" class="warm">1</span> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72426_65768"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">This isn't true, Google won't make up a new page title if the title is longer than X amount of characters at all. They change the page title for branded searches or if they can find something visible on the indexed page that they feel is more semantically relevant to the user's search query. </span> – <a href="../../users/12183/zigojacko" title="5,072 reputation" class="comment-user ">zigojacko</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72426_65768"><span title="2014-07-08T09:02:18.720 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 08 '14 at 09:02</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72443" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72443" data-comment-owner-id="36029" data-comment-score="0"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72443_65768"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">@zigojacko Thanks for the rebuff and down vote. I have added some proof to the answer. You will see that what I wrote is absolutely true. </span> – <a href="../../users/36029/closetnoc" title="32,849 reputation" class="comment-user ">closetnoc</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72443_65768"><span title="2014-07-08T17:33:34.377 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 08 '14 at 17:33</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72463" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72463" data-comment-owner-id="12183" data-comment-score="1"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> <span title="number of 'useful comment' votes received" class="warm">1</span> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72463_65768"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">@closetnoc your citated sources are accurate yes - but that isn't what your original answer stated. The visible title in SERPs has been decided by pixel width for some time but Google will change the page title if they feel they can provide a better match or if it is a brand/URL search. <em>Not</em> if it is too long by X characters (which none of your sources confirm) - that was the only reason for my downvote because it was an inaccurate statement. Your proof doesn't back up your original answer. </span> – <a href="../../users/12183/zigojacko" title="5,072 reputation" class="comment-user ">zigojacko</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72463_65768"><span title="2014-07-09T07:40:16.957 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 09 '14 at 07:40</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72484" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72484" data-comment-owner-id="36029" data-comment-score="1"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> <span title="number of 'useful comment' votes received" class="warm">1</span> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72484_65768"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">@zigojacko I added more proof. You need to slow down and check whether you have the right view of what is going on. There are people here that really do know what they are talking about! This is not the first time you jumped on an answer and immediately down-voted an accurate answer. A smarter/more respectful thing to do is post a comment first and wait for the response to make sure that a down-vote is warranted. Otherwise, you are risking damaging your own credibility and damaging a valid answer as you have here. Again, as I said, a simple search proves my point. I suggest you remember that. </span> – <a href="../../users/36029/closetnoc" title="32,849 reputation" class="comment-user ">closetnoc</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72484_65768"><span title="2014-07-09T15:42:49.460 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 09 '14 at 15:42</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72494" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72494" data-comment-owner-id="12183" data-comment-score="1"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> <span title="number of 'useful comment' votes received" class="warm">1</span> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72494_65768"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">@closetnoc - I'm not meaning to be disrespectful or unfair and rarely do I downvote, only if the answer is factually incorrect. You stated "If a title tag is too long, Google will make one up" - that isn't why Google makes up titles and I don't see anywhere in your "proof" that backs that up. It is incorrect to advise that to others here so I don't feel I am damaging a valid answer. [offtopic] And believe it or not, contrary to belief, there is nothing to say that a search engine does not pay any attention to characters 55 - 300 - it's purely just what is visible in SERPs (greater weight 1st). </span> – <a href="../../users/12183/zigojacko" title="5,072 reputation" class="comment-user ">zigojacko</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72494_65768"><span title="2014-07-09T17:10:13.367 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 09 '14 at 17:10</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> <li id="comment-72513" class="comment js-comment " data-comment-id="72513" data-comment-owner-id="36029" data-comment-score="1"> <div class="js-comment-actions comment-actions"> <div class="comment-score js-comment-edit-hide"> <span title="number of 'useful comment' votes received" class="warm">1</span> </div> </div> <div class="comment-text js-comment-text-and-form"> <a name="comment72513_65768"></a> <div class="comment-body js-comment-edit-hide"> <span class="comment-copy">The SERPs is what the question was about and that is what I am referring to. I did update the answer specifically to answer your last point and it does answer this point. The truncation issue has been in existence since 2012 and has only become a larger issue since March with the redesign test which may not be appearing in the UK- not sure. I preferred the old way- just lop it of and put an ellipsis without all this dancing around with the title tag length. If you look at my site at all, don't look too carefully, it sucks(!), you will see that I make use of the title tag length very carefully. </span> – <a href="../../users/36029/closetnoc" title="32,849 reputation" class="comment-user ">closetnoc</a> <span class="comment-date" dir="ltr"><a class="comment-link" href="../../questions/65767/title-in-google-does-not-match-title-of-document#comment72513_65768"><span title="2014-07-09T20:08:11.397 License: " class="relativetime-clean">Jul 09 '14 at 20:08</span></a></span> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="sidebar" class="show-votes" role="complementary" aria-label="sidebar"> <div class="module sidebar-linked"> <h4 id="h-linked">Linked</h4> <div class="linked"> <div class="spacer"> <a title="Vote score (upvotes - downvotes)"><div class="answer-votes default">3</div></a> <a href="../../questions/67971/force-google-not-to-include-my-site-s-name-in-my-pages-title" class="question-hyperlink">Force google not to include my site's name in my pages' title</a> </div> </div> <div class="linked"> <div class="spacer"> <a title="Vote score (upvotes - 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