The title tag is the HTML element in your page's head section that defines the clickable headline shown in search engine results pages.

How long should a title tag be?

Keep title tags under 60 characters. Longer titles get truncated with an ellipsis in search results, hiding your key message.

← Blog

How to Fix a Missing or Too-Long Title Tag

Q: What happens if a page has no title tag?

Google will auto-generate a title from whatever text it finds on the page, which is rarely the message you want searchers to see.

SEO Jan 31, 2026 3 min read

What the title tag check tests

Every HTML page has a <title> tag in the <head> section. This is the clickable headline that appears in Google search results. SiteCurl’s title tag check looks for two problems: pages with no title tag at all, and pages with titles longer than 60 characters.

Both issues hurt your search visibility. A missing title means Google picks whatever text it finds on the page, which is rarely what you want. A title that runs past 60 characters gets cut off with an ellipsis, hiding your key message.

Why it matters

The title tag is the single most important on-page SEO element. It tells search engines what the page is about, and it is the first thing a searcher reads in the results. A clear, concise title earns clicks. A missing or truncated one gets skipped.

Beyond search, the title tag also appears in browser tabs, bookmarks, and social shares. Every context where your page appears uses this one tag to represent it.

How to fix it

Missing title tags

Add a <title> tag inside the <head> of every page:

<head>
  <title>Your Page Title | Site Name</title>
</head>

Each page needs a unique title that describes its specific content. Do not use the same title across multiple pages.

Titles that are too long

If your title exceeds 60 characters, shorten it. Move the most important words to the front. Drop filler words like “Welcome to” or “The Best.”

Before: “Welcome to Our Amazing Online Store for Handcrafted Wooden Furniture and Home Decor Items”

After: “Handcrafted Wooden Furniture

Your Store Name”

CMS-specific fixes

In WordPress, install Yoast SEO or Rank Math and edit the title in the SEO meta box below each page. In Squarespace, go to Pages, click the gear icon next to the page, and edit the SEO title. In Shopify, edit the “Page title” field in the SEO section of each page.

How to verify the fix

View your page source (right-click, View Page Source) and search for <title>. Confirm the text is unique to the page and under 60 characters. Or run a SiteCurl scan and check the SEO section of your report for the title tag finding.

If you are fixing title tags, also check your meta descriptions and canonical URLs. These three tags form the foundation of on-page SEO.

Ready to check your site? Start a free trial and scan your pages in minutes.