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SEO
Why does every page need its own page title?
Every page needs its own page title, because Google builds the blue, clickable heading of the search result from it. The title sits invisibly in the page's source code, and also appears at the top of the browser tab. It's the first thing a searcher reads about your business. Without a title, the search engine alone decides what words present your page.
How your Google result is built from the page title
When someone searches for your offering, Google shows a list of results. Every result consists of a blue heading, an address line, and a short description text. In most cases, the blue heading comes directly from the page title your website supplies. So you determine yourself what your entry in the results list is called — the way you determine the text on your shop sign yourself. A good title names the offering and the location, or the company name: "Huber Joinery — Custom furniture in Graz", for instance. Anyone who leaves the title empty throws this spot away.
What happens if the page title is missing
If the title is missing, Google doesn't leave the spot empty. The search engine instead assembles a text itself from the page's content — some arbitrary heading, a menu item, or the file name. The result then often reads something like "Homepage" or "Untitled document". A searcher can't tell from that what you offer, and is more likely to click a competitor with a clear heading. Our check therefore treats a missing page title as a critical shortcoming: it affects every single search query where your page might appear.
How we check the page title
The SEO audit area reads the source code of every page examined, and checks whether a title element is set there. Every page is checked individually, since every subpage gets its own search result — the "services" page needs a different title from the "contact" page. You see the result broken down per page in the audit report. Whether the title's length is well chosen is examined by a separate check point; here, it's purely about whether a title exists at all.
- Open your homepage and read the text in the browser tab — that's your current page title.
- Search Google for your company name and check whether the blue heading clearly names your offering.
- Give every subpage its own title naming the offering and company name — "Custom furniture — Huber Joinery", say.
- Ask your agency to rename pages titled "Homepage" or "New page".
FAQ
Where can I see my website's page title?
Open the page in the browser and look at the tab at the top: the text shown there is the page title. Alternatively, search Google for your company name — a result's blue heading usually comes from the page title. In most content management systems, it can be changed per page in the page settings.
Does every subpage need its own title?
Yes. Every subpage can appear individually in the Google results list, and gets its own heading there. If every page carries the same title, every result looks the same, and the searcher doesn't know which entry answers their question. A distinct title per page takes a few minutes and works on every search.
What happens if the page title is missing?
Google then invents its own heading from the page's content — from a menu item or some arbitrary line of text, say. These self-chosen headings are usually worse than one you would have written yourself. Our check therefore reports a page with no title as a critical shortcoming in the SEO audit area.