SEO Optimised Page Titles

Posted

May 5, 2025

Before a user steps onto your website, before your fancy words, imagery, and offers have a chance to work, you'll have to get them to choose you over all the other options in the SERPs. Page titles are one of the most significant roles in this.

Done right, your page title is eye-catching and irresistible.
Done wrong, and people scroll right past.

Step 1: Understanding What a Page Title Is

seo-optimised-page-titles image 1

Your page title is the first impression your page makes across:

Search engine results
Browser tabs
Social media previews

It lives inside your page's title tag and plays a double role:

For users: Tells them what to expect.
For search engines: Signals what your page is about.

Your title isn't just a label — it's an SEO ranking factor. It's often referred to as a website page title or SEO page title. If you've ever wondered what is a page title on a website, it’s simply the text you see on the search engine results pages (SERPs) and the browser tab.

Step 2: Research First

Before writing anything, research:

Google your primary keyword.
Analyze the titles of the top 10 results.
- Do they use numbers?
- Is the year included?
- Are titles short and punchy or longer and descriptive?
Understand the search intent:
- Informational? (Learn something)
- Transactional? (Buy or sign up)
- Navigational? (Find a specific site)

Tip

Match your title to the intent users expect. Consider what your competitors are doing and if there is anything you can do to stand out. If everyone uses full caps, maybe lowercase would make you look different, i.e., eye-catching.

Step 3: Add Your Primary Keyword Early

Your primary keyword should appear at the beginning (or as early as naturally possible).

Example:

Good: Off-Page SEO Strategies for 2025 | Brand

Not-so-good: Everything You Need to Know About the Wild World of Off-Page SEO | Brand

Early placement improves:

SEO relevance
User scanning behaviour (users tend to read from left to right)

Tip

Don't keyword stuff. Stick to one primary keyword, maybe one secondary if it's very natural.

Step 4: Keep It the Right Length

Google measures title width in pixels, not characters. Still, aim for:

50–60 characters, or
~550 pixels in width.

Too long? Google cuts it off with an ellipsis (...) — and you lose critical impact.

Too short? You're wasting prime SEO real estate.

Tip

Tools like Yoast SEO and Semrush Site Audit can visually show if your title is too wide. If you want to go down that route, there are also websites that will give you the exact pixel measurement of a title. Tip 2: As stated before, you want to stand out, so although a short title might be wasting prime SEO real estate, I have tested short titles in SERPs where the competition is running with mostly long titles and have seen increases in CTR. (Again, you look different and thus stand out)

Following title tag optimization practices ensures your page title displays properly across devices.

Step 5: A Unique Hook

Without a "hook," your title blends into the crowd.

Options for a good hook:

Numbers: 7 Ways to Improve Page Titles
Emotional words: Easy, Proven, Powerful
Phrasing urgency: Don't Miss, Ultimate Guide
Questions: What Is SEO?

Here are a few page title examples:

Master SEO: 7 Tips for Beginners | MyBrand
What is SEO Title in WordPress? | Complete Beginner Guide

These SEO title examples show how simple and effective good titles can be.

Step 6: Mix in Brand Flavor (Optional)

Depending on the page type:

Homepage: Brand first.
MyBrand | Best SEO Insights for Beginners
Blog post or inner page: Brand at the end.
How to Optimize Titles for SEO | MyBrand

Modern SERPs often display your brand separately, but it's still wise to include it manually.

Tip

This structure can also depend on the brand and the page you create the title for; if it was for a specific product that people know the brand for, in some scenarios, people may just be looking for the brand name, so having this first could help CTR.

Step 7: Readability and CTR

Make your title easy to read:

Avoid keyword stuffing.
Separate concepts with pipes | or colons :.
Minimize stop words ("and," "the") if possible.
Don't use all caps — it's hard to scan.

Example:

Bad: LEARN ABOUT SEO AND OPTIMIZE YOUR TITLE TAGS - MYBRAND

Good: Optimize SEO Title Tags: 7 Essential Tips | MyBrand

Title vs. H1 — Keep Them Similar

Your H1 should closely match your title tag. Not identical? Fine. But don't bait-and-switch users.

Mismatch example (bad UX):

Title tag: "Ultimate SEO Guide"
H1 on-page: "Why SEO Doesn't Matter Anymore"

Confusion kills trust.

On Facebook, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn:

Be more emotional and attention-grabbing.
The brand name is less critical.

You are looking for more clickbaity titles, if possible, something that will make someone click to find out more.

Google Might Rewrite Your Title

Even with a perfect title, Google sometimes rewrites it based on:

Your H1 tag
On-page text
Open Graph (og:title) tags
Anchor text from other pages

Best defence: Write crystal-clear, relevant titles that match page content tightly.

Test and Optimize

You must revisit titles over time. SEO isn't "set and forget."

Monitor:

CTR (Click-Through Rate) in Google Search Console
Rankings for your target keywords
Any titles getting truncated in SERPs

Use AI tools to help automate and enhance this process, especially when focusing on page title SEO best practices and SEO page title best practices.

Example AI-driven workflows:

Pull Search Console Data Automatically: Use Google Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) combined with AI-based analysis tools (like Supermetrics + GPT or custom GPT pipelines) to flag titles with:
- Low CTR
- Big CTR drops
- High impressions but poor clicks
- Frequent truncations (detected from title length data)
AI Analysis for Decision-Making: Feed your Search Console exports into an AI assistant like ChatGPT Advanced Data Analysis (formerly Code Interpreter) or use custom Python scripts that:
- Identify underperforming titles
- Suggest reasons why (too long? poor engagement words?)
- Recommend new title variations based on SEO best practices.
Title Truncation Detection: Combine page title length (in pixels/characters) with CTR trends. If CTR is lower for pages with wider titles, AI can flag them for review.

FAQs about Page Titles

What is a page title on a website?

A page title (or SEO title) is the text that shows up on the search engine results pages (SERPs), browser tabs, and when links are shared online. It's crucial for both user experience and SEO.

What are some page title examples?

Some examples include: "Master SEO: 7 Tips for Beginners | MyBrand" and "What is SEO Title in WordPress? | Complete Beginner Guide". Good SEO title examples are short, clear, and keyword-focused.

How do you optimize a page title for SEO?

Follow SEO title best practices like placing your primary keyword early, keeping titles between 50–60 characters, making them enticing, and avoiding keyword stuffing.

What is SEO title in WordPress?

The SEO title in WordPress is the field you fill out (often managed by plugins like Yoast SEO) that controls what title appears in search engine results, separate from your on-page H1 headline.

How do I optimize title tags for local SEO?

For local SEO, mention the city or region you are targeting in your title tag. Example: "Best Pizza in Brooklyn | Joe's Pizza".