SEOs Notice Google Replacing Title Tags With Other Relevant Text

Online SEO agencies aim to write unique and creative title tags to attract readers from the search engine results pages (SERPs). However, the community recently noticed how Google tends to rewrite title tags in the search results and replace the text with a page’s H1 tag. This made many SEO agencies and online businesses confused and concerned.

Google can make minor tweaks in titles in the SERPs, such as adding the brand name to the end. However, the SEO community noticed that the search engine company is replacing titles with different text.

The community started seeing this major change on 16 August, and people are taking screenshots of major title rewrites and posting them on Twitter. No one knew the scale of the title rewrites at that time. Now, it has become widespread enough that several online businesses and SEO agencies have come across this phenomenon on the Internet.

A screenshot on Twitter suggests that Google uses the text from H1 tags for most of these title rewrites. However, one SEO noticed that they have seen Google use anchor text from an internal link to rewrite the page title. Another SEO added that they saw Google insert dates into their page titles.

In theory, it seems that Google is choosing any relevant text from a page and using it to replace the page title in the SERPs. The search engine company is also using the same approach for meta descriptions as they can dynamically adjust it in search snippets to better match their users’ queries.

According to an expert, the update is not limited to one or two factors. Instead, Google takes an algorithmic approach to rewrite titles that better match a user’s query. Moreover, the search engine company can use any kind of text to rewrite page titles, whether from the header tag or any other part of the content.

They also showed evidence of Google replacing the page title using text from another page of the website. Google does not seem to have set any limits as to where they get text to rewrite page titles.

SEOs also noticed how Google rewrites the title to be shorter than the original, suggesting that the search engine enhances the relevance of the result and improves its readability for the users.

If Google is conducting a live test and the SEO community only noticed it, the search engine company should notify the SEO community about it sooner or later. Online SEO agencies and businesses may ask about it on this week’s Q&A with Google’s John Mueller.

How Title Rewrites Affect The SEO Community

For now, it is nearly impossible for the SEO community to draw any conclusions about Google rewriting page titles. Google is always known for running tests in live search results, so there is a huge chance that online businesses and users will see things go back to normal in the future.

On the other hand, these changes could be the initial stages of a permanent change. If Google includes title rewrites to their future algorithmic updates, it could be good news for many websites.

Google may be aiming to replace titles to enhance a result’s relevancy for a searcher’s query. If this is the case, the users will see more relevant titles that could compel them to click through.

Nevertheless, some people are worried about this new change, especially for online businesses and site owners who treat titles as one of the most important factors in SEO. Mueller agrees that titles are a ranking factor and are essential for SEO. However, he has stated long ago that people should not spend too much time worrying about it or tweaking it if Google replaces it with something more relevant.

On the brighter side, people have not reported anything negative about their rankings and search visibility after Google rewrote their page titles. So, that is a good indication that this change, if it is permanent, would not make things harder for SEOs.

Create Good Titles And Snippets In Search Results

According to Google Search Central, Google generates page titles and descriptions or snippets automatically. They consider both the page’s content and its references that appear on the Internet. The goal of titles and snippets is to best represent and describe each SERP result and explain how it is relevant to a user’s query.

Google uses various sources for this information, such as descriptive information in the page’s meta tags and titles. They can also create rich results based on the page’s markup. Although Google cannot manually change snippets or titles for individual websites, they always work on improving their relevance as much as possible. However, the search engine company also has a few tips for SEOs who want to make their mages more relevant to users queries.

• Write concise and descriptive titles. One should stop writing vague descriptions for a specific person’s profile or home page.
• Avoid boilerplate titles. The titles should be unique and descriptive for each page.
• Avoid keyword stuffing. One should not use the exact words or phrases multiple times in the title tags.
• Include the site or brand name in the titles – but do this concisely. One can include their brand names either at the beginning or end, separated from the rest of the page title using a delimiter, like a colon, hyphen, pipe, and so on.

Work With The UK’s Top SEO Agency

Here at Position1SEO, we have a highly experienced team of content writers who can write unique and relevant content for your website. We can also create the perfect title tags and meta descriptions to attract your readers and potential clients at first glance!

Aside from this, we are experts in optimising your web pages to be ready for Google’s crawlers. With our no-stone-unturned approach and white hat SEO tactics, we can help your website climb the ladder and reach the first page of Google’s SERP – with zero risks!

If you are interested in acquiring our affordable bespoke services, you can call us on 0141 846 0114 or email us at office@position1seo.co.uk.