A title tag is the <title> element in your page's HTML head section. Search engines display it as the blue clickable link in results, and browsers show it in the tab bar. It's your first impression with both Google and users, so it carries serious weight for SEO. Google uses title tags as a primary relevance signal. A well-optimized title with your target keyword near the front tells search engines what the page is about. Aim for 50-60 characters to avoid truncation in results, though Google now rewrites titles more aggressively than it did pre-2021. We see rewrites happen roughly 60-70% of the time across our portfolio, especially when titles are too long, stuffed with keywords, or don't match page content. Title tags also drive click-through rate. A generic title like "Services - Ottawa SEO Inc." gets crushed by something specific like "Enterprise SEO Audits - Ottawa SEO Inc." Users scan results in under two seconds, so clarity and relevance matter more than cleverness. Best practices we follow: - Put primary keyword in the first 5-8 words - Keep it under 60 characters including spaces - Make each title unique across your site - Include brand name at the end for recognition, or omit it on less important pages to save space - Write for humans first, then optimize for bots Common mistakes include duplicating titles across pages, keyword stuffing, and writing titles that don't match the H1 or page content. Google will rewrite these almost every time, and you lose control of your messaging. If you see your titles getting rewritten in Search Console, it usually means either length issues or a mismatch between what you claim in the title and what's actually on the page. For local businesses in Ottawa or Toronto, including the city name makes sense when you're targeting geo-specific queries. For SaaS or national brands, skip the location unless it's genuinely relevant to the search intent.