Google Confirms New System Update For Title Tag Rewrites

Google has publicly announced to Google SEO experts that they are indeed updating their way of generating web page titles in search results. This move might encourage site owners and publishers to take a different approach when writing page titles to improve their Google SEO.

Google’s Danny Sullivan confirmed that the search engine company updated their system of generating page titles. Before the update, the titles changed depending on the user’s query. With the new changes, Google will no longer base things on the query; instead, it will produce titles that best suit all documents in general regardless of what the user types in the search bar.

The SEO community has extensively documented the new system ever since they discovered it live in search results last week. People observed that Google was rewriting titles by using other text on the page, and Sullivan also confirmed this.

He said that Google’s new system is using more than HTML text to rewrite titles. It uses some of the text that readers visually see when they visit the page. For instance, the system considers the H1 tags, header tags, headline or main visual title on a page, and any other prominent text throughout the content. Google may also use the text within links.

Sullivan further explained why Google is rewriting title tags this way, saying that title tags almost always do not describe the page’s topic. Most of the time, title tags are stuffed with keywords, have no text or boilerplate text, and are too lengthy.

Google’s new system update can create more accessible and readable page titles. It might also add website names or choose the most relevant part of an extremely long title instead of cutting off useful words or starting at the beginning.

Although Google is now taking a different approach to rewriting titles, online businesses and site owners should never stop optimising HTML title tags. Sullivan told the SEO community that they should still focus on creating unique HTML titles for pages.

He added that Google will still use over 80 per cent of the page’s original HTML title tags. In testing, Google was confident that the update creates titles that are easier to read. They also claim that searchers prefer the update over Google’s previous title generator system.

Sullivan stated that are no exceptions to Google’s new system; sites can’t opt-out of having Google replace their page titles. He did say, however, that Google should give an option to publishers who want to preserve a few of their page titles. Sullivan proposed a Search Console feature where site owners could choose whether they want Google to replace their HTML title tags or not – but they could only ask for a limited number of pages to retain their original titles.

However, there is still no news on whether Google would accept Sullivan’s proposal.

Page Title Update Reacts To On-Site Changes

An SEO asked Sullivan on Twitter about the number of times Google’s system will refresh its chosen title for a page. After all, some sites like news outlets will modify titles all the time after publishing articles.

Sullivan replied that Google’s new system is dynamic and reactive to changes on-site, meaning the text initially chosen to rewrite the page titles can change. For instance, when a site owner modifies their page’s HTML title tag, Google will consider the updated text to use for the title rewrites.

Moreover, he revealed that Google has already made refinements and is planning to launch more updates in the future.

Whether or not Google will rewrite a title in the search results will most likely depend on its assessment of the text. The system’s main criterion for rewriting page titles is how accurately it represents the topic. Therefore, if a site owner finds out that Google rewrote their page’s titles, it indicates that the title probably didn’t accurately reflect the content.

Although Sullivan’s request for a Search Console feature has not been made into a reality, site owners and publishers who are dissatisfied with Google’s title rewrites can try creating a new title tag for their web page content. There’s a chance that the search engine will display the new title tag instead. And since the update recently rolled out, Google is still in the process of making refinements, so SEOs should avoid making a lot of changes for now.

Sullivan’s point also backs up Google’s announcement that the majority of the pages in the search results – which is about over 80 per cent – will keep their original HTML title tags. For now, it is good advice to focus on writing unique and relevant HTML title tags and not stressing too much about making a lot of changes if Google replaces the title tags.

Google is requesting the SEO community to submit feedback on their new system of generating page titles. Google’s John Mueller also started a thread in the Search Console Help forums, so people can share their experiences about the new update and how it affects their website’s Google SEO visibility and traffic.

Mueller also asked online businesses and publishers to be as detailed as possible when giving feedback. He requested people to provide crucial details about the website, including the page content’s URL, its title, the device type the SEO used, and the feedback they have on that title. People can also attach a screenshot to their reply to the thread if they want to.

Hire One Of The UK’s Top SEO Agency

Position1SEO is a team of Google SEO experts who can help your website rank number 1 on Google’s search results.

If you need help creating enticing title tags and meta descriptions for your website, our content team can do just that. We can also help you fully optimise your website so that your pages are fully ready for Google crawling and indexing.

By working with us, you are entitled to a bespoke SEO package that suits your business’s needs. Some of the SEO tasks we handle include:

• Google Search Console
• Google Local set up
• Website performance
• Website accessibility
• Website load speed
• Link detox
• Positive link building
• Accelerated mobile pages
• Etc.

If you want to know more about our services, contact us on 0141 846 0114 or email us at office@position1seo.co.uk.