# Title length

> Title length is the number of characters in a page's title tag. A short title wastes space in search results, a long one gets cut off with an ellipsis.

- **Check ID:** S2
- **Area:** [SEO](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo)
- **Tool:** [SEO + Security + Performance](https://be1st.ai/tools/ssp-audit)
- **Page:** https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/title-length

## Why it matters

Google displays approximately 50-60 characters from the title tag in search results. An optimal title within this range maximizes visibility and click-through rate (CTR).

## In practice

Wikipedia uses short titles like 'Bratislava - Wikipedia' (22 characters) that work thanks to a strong brand, even though the length check flags them as too short. Conversely, a title with 90 characters gets truncated in Google and the user cannot see the full information.

## How be1st checks it

Checks the length of the title tag, which should be 50-60 characters. A title of 30-70 characters gets half the points. A title that is too short does not use its full potential in search results, while one that is too long gets truncated with an ellipsis.

[SEO + Security + Performance](https://be1st.ai/tools/ssp-audit), SEO tab.

Every check ends as: Pass, Warning, Fail.

## Sources

- [HTML `<title>` Element](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Reference/Elements/title) (MDN Web Docs)
- [SEO Starter Guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide) (Google Search Central)

## Related terms

- [Title tag](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/title-tag): The title tag is the HTML `<title>` element that names a page. Browsers show it in the tab and search engines usually use it as the clickable headline of a result.
- [H1 heading](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/h1-heading): The H1 is the main heading of a page, the `<h1>` element. It tells readers and search engines what the page is about, so each page should have exactly one.
- [Heading hierarchy](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/heading-hierarchy): Heading hierarchy is the order of headings from H1 to H6. A correct outline nests them by level without skipping any, like the chapters and sections of a book.
- [Canonical URL](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/canonical-url): A canonical URL is the preferred address of a page, set with `<link rel='canonical'>`. It tells search engines which version to index when the same content has several URLs.
- [Viewport meta tag](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/viewport-meta-tag): The viewport meta tag tells mobile browsers how wide to lay out a page and how to scale it. Without it, a phone shows a shrunken desktop page.
- [Robots meta tag](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/robots-meta-tag): The robots meta tag gives search engines instructions for one page, such as noindex (keep it out of results) or nofollow (do not follow its links).