Keep your page titles between 50 and 60 characters to avoid Google cutting them off in search results. Google measures title width in pixels (roughly 600px on desktop), not characters, so narrow letters like 'i' and 'l' let you fit more text than wide ones like 'W' or 'M'. A 60-character title with lots of Ms might get truncated while a 65-character title with narrow letters displays fine. The hard truth: Google rewrites titles in 60–70% of cases anyway, pulling from H1s, anchor text, or just making up something they think matches user intent better. You still write good titles because when Google does show yours, you want maximum click-through. Front-load your primary keyword in the first 40 characters since that's what definitely displays even on mobile. Common title formulas that work: - Primary Keyword | Secondary Keyword | Brand (52–58 chars) - How to [Task] in [Location/Context] | Brand (48–55 chars) - [Number] Ways to [Benefit] – Brand Name (45–52 chars) At Ottawa SEO Inc., we test titles in the 50–65 character range for our 500+ domain portfolio. Shorter isn't always better—a 35-character title wastes valuable SERP real estate and often underperforms a specific 58-character one. The sweet spot depends on your brand name length. If your brand is 'Ottawa SEO Inc.' (16 characters with separator), you have 40–44 characters for the descriptive part. Watch out for special characters and emojis—they can throw off pixel width unpredictably. Also remember that title length matters less than whether it actually answers the searcher's question and earns the click. A perfectly sized but generic title loses to a slightly long but compelling one every time. Test your titles in SERPsim or a similar preview tool, but don't obsess over 2–3 characters. Focus on clarity, keyword placement, and click-appeal first, then trim to fit the window.