Why Google Rewrites Your Title (and How to Get It to Stop)

By Om Usturge · Updated November 2, 2026 · 1 min read

You wrote a great title. Google showed something else. It stings, but it is rarely random. Google has said it may build a title link from your title tag, your headings and other text on the page when it thinks that describes the page better.

The five usual suspects

1. Too long. If your title runs past roughly 600 pixels, Google may trim it or swap it. Wide letters like W and M use up room faster than i and l.

2. Keyword stuffing. "Shoes | Buy Shoes | Cheap Shoes Online | Shoes Store" reads like a list, not a title.

3. Your title and your H1 disagree. If the title says one thing and the page's main heading says another, Google has to pick. Often it picks the heading.

4. The same title on many pages. Boilerplate titles give Google nothing to tell pages apart.

5. Your brand name is doing all the talking. A title that is only your site name tells searchers nothing about this page.

Fix it in five minutes

1. Open the SEO Preview and paste your page address.
2. Look at the desktop and mobile Google previews. Is the ending cut off?
3. Put the words people actually search for in the first half of the title.
4. Make the H1 say the same thing in different words.
5. Keep the brand at the end, short.

Before and after

• Before: Best Running Shoes 2026 | Buy Running Shoes Online | Free Delivery | RunCo Official Store
• After: Best Running Shoes for Flat Feet (Tested) | RunCo

Be honest with yourself

Even a perfect title can be rewritten for a specific search. Treat the preview as your best guess, not a promise. If Google keeps rewriting one page, look at the H1 first.

Your turn: pick your most important page and run it through the SEO Preview now. If the title is cut off, you just found a free win.