A website title is the name of your whole site, such as Search Offgrid. An article title is the name of 1 page or post on that site, such as a post on finding keywords. Search engines and readers see both, but in different places and for different jobs.
The confusion comes from a third title that sits between them: the HTML title tag. Many guides call the title tag the "website title," which is why the terms get mixed up. Below we separate all 3 titles, show where each appears, and explain how Google decides what to display.
What is the difference between a website title and an article title?
A website title (also called the site title or site name) identifies the source. It is the brand name, it stays the same on every page, and you usually set it once in your content management system. An article title identifies the content. It changes on every page, and its job is to tell the reader what this page answers.
The page title tag is the HTML <title> element in the page code. It belongs to 1 page, like the article title. It often combines both, as in "Article title | Website title". Google treats the title tag as a main source when it labels a page in a search result.
| Title | What it names | Where you set it | Changes per page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website title (site name) | The whole site or brand | Site settings, home page, WebSite structured data |
No |
| Page title tag | 1 page, for search engines and browsers | <title> in the HTML head, often an "SEO title" field |
Yes |
| Article title (H1 heading) | 1 page, for readers | The headline field in your editor | Yes |
If you are deciding which words go in each title, start by finding the keyword each page should own. Our guide on how to look for keywords on a website covers the free ways to see what a page already ranks for.
Where does each title appear?
Each title shows up in different places, and that is the easiest way to tell them apart. Most competing guides describe the titles in prose. This table maps every common placement in 1 view.
| Placement | Website title (site name) | Page title tag | Article title (H1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browser tab | Often appended at the end | Yes, this is the browser title | No |
| Google search result | Shown above the result as the site name | Main source for the blue title link | Can be used as the title link |
| On the webpage itself | Logo and site header | Not visible | Yes, the headline at the top |
| Social share preview | Sometimes, via og:site_name |
Fallback when no og:title is set |
Sometimes, via og:title |
| Bookmarks and history | Often included | Yes | No |
| Screen readers | Only if it is in the title tag | Yes, announced when the page loads | Read as the main heading |
The pattern is simple. The title tag labels the page outside the page, in tabs and search results. The H1 heading labels the page inside it, for people who already clicked. The site name labels the source everywhere.
How does Google choose the title shown in search results?
Google calls the blue clickable link in a result the "title link," and it does not always use your title tag. Google's title link documentation says it builds title links automatically from several sources:
- The
<title>element - The main visual title on the page
- Heading elements such as the H1
- The
og:titlemeta tag - Other large, prominent text, anchor text on the page and text in links pointing to the page
WebSitestructured data
Google may rewrite your title when the title tag is a poor label. The same documentation lists the common triggers:
- Half-empty titles, such as only "| Site Name".
- Obsolete titles that still show an old year.
- Inaccurate titles that do not match the page.
- Near-identical boilerplate titles across many pages.
In those cases Google may use other prominent text, such as the H1, instead.
That is why the title tag and the H1 should describe the same topic. When they disagree, you give Google a reason to pick the title you did not write for search.
There is no hard character limit on the title element. Google says title links are truncated as needed to fit the device width. We aim for about 50 to 60 characters and put the primary keyword near the start, so the important words survive the cut.
Duplicate title tags cause a separate problem. When 20 product pages share the same title, Google struggles to tell which page answers a query, and the pages can compete with each other. Our guide on why duplicate content is an issue for SEO explains how duplicated titles and copy split ranking signals.
How does Google show the website title (site name)?
Google displays a site name above each search result to show where the result comes from. Google's site names documentation says the site name is chosen automatically from the home page and from references to it across the web.
The strongest signal you control is WebSite structured data on your home page with a name property. Google also reads the home page title tag, headings and og:site_name. You can list alternatives with alternateName in case Google does not pick your first choice.
A few limits matter for small businesses:
- Site names work at the domain and subdomain level only. A subfolder such as
/shop/cannot have its own site name. - Generic names, such as "Best Plumbing," are unlikely to be chosen unless the brand is well known.
- Changes can take days to weeks to appear after Google recrawls the home page.
Because Google already shows the site name, it may drop a repeated brand from the end of your title link. Your title tag still benefits from the brand when the name is short and known, so keep it at the end, separated by a hyphen or pipe.
How do the 3 titles work together on 1 page?
The best setup gives each title a clear job and keeps them consistent. Here is how we write them for a typical blog post on an ecommerce site. The same pattern works for a product page, a service page or a landing page.
| Title | Example |
|---|---|
| Website title | Northside Outdoor |
| Page title tag | Waterproof Hiking Boots: How to Choose a Pair - Northside Outdoor |
| Article title (H1) | How to choose waterproof hiking boots for wet trails |
| URL slug | /blog/choose-waterproof-hiking-boots |
The title tag leads with the target keyword and ends with the brand. The H1 is written for the reader and covers the same topic in fuller words. The URL slug repeats the core topic in a short, readable form. If your slugs are long or full of IDs, here is how to optimize your URL structure for SEO.
Best practices we follow for every page:
- Write a unique title tag for every page. No 2 indexable pages should share 1.
- Use a single H1 heading per page, and make it the most prominent text above the fold.
- Match the title tag and H1 in topic, even when the wording differs.
- Avoid keyword stuffing. 1 primary keyword and 1 natural variation is enough.
- Keep the home page title tag descriptive. "Home" tells searchers nothing.
Do titles matter for AI Overviews and AI search?
Titles help AI systems understand what a page covers, but no title guarantees a citation. AI Overviews, ChatGPT search and Perplexity break a question into smaller searches and pull passages from pages that answer each part. A clear title tag and a matching H1 help a page get retrieved for the right sub-question.
Google's guidance on AI features says there are no extra requirements or special markup to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. The same title best practices apply. Being retrieved, cited, mentioned and recommended are separate outcomes, and good titles improve the odds of the first without promising the rest.
Website title vs article title in a citation (APA and MLA)
When you cite a web page, the article title and the website title go in different spots with different styling. This sub-question comes up often for students, so here is the short version.
In MLA 9, the article title goes in quotation marks and the website title goes in italics. The Purdue OWL MLA guide gives this pattern: Author. "Title of the Article." Title of the Website, URL.
In APA 7, the page title is italicized and the site name is plain text. The APA webpage reference examples follow this pattern: Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. Site Name. URL. APA drops the site name when it matches the author.
To find each title, look at the H1 on the page for the article title. The website title is usually in the logo, the browser tab or the footer copyright line.
Get your titles checked
If your title tags, H1s and site name are out of sync, Google may rewrite them for you. Our on-page SEO services include a title audit across every indexable page.