---
name: title-rewrite-diagnosis
description: Use when Search Console shows impressions for a page but the title in results is not the title you wrote.
---

# Title rewrite diagnosis

Google rewrites titles on a large share of results. It is not random: it happens when your title is too long, keyword-stuffed, boilerplate-heavy, or contradicted by the H1. This skill finds which trigger applies so you can write a title Google keeps.

## What you need first

- The rendered title tag and H1 for the affected pages
- The actual title shown in results, taken from a live search or a rank tracker

## Method

1. Compare your title against the displayed one, word by word. What Google substituted tells you what it preferred - usually the H1, the site name, or anchor text pointing at the page.
2. Measure the title in pixels rather than characters. Past roughly 600px on desktop it is a rewrite candidate before it is a truncation candidate.
3. Check for repeated boilerplate. A brand suffix on every page is fine; the same three keywords before it on every page is a rewrite trigger.
4. Look for contradiction between title and H1. When they disagree, Google frequently prefers the H1, so aligning them is often the whole fix.
5. Count keyword repetitions. The same term twice in one title is the single most common trigger.
6. Rewrite to one clear claim under the pixel limit, matching the H1 in substance, and re-check after the page is recrawled.

## What this produces

Per affected page: the rewrite trigger identified, and a replacement title that removes it.

## Where this goes wrong

- Assuming a rewrite means the title was bad - sometimes Google simply prefers a better-matching H1
- Counting characters instead of measuring pixels
- Rewriting repeatedly without waiting for a recrawl, so you never learn which change worked

---

From the QuQi skill library - https://www.quqi.io/skills/title-rewrite-diagnosis