Title Tag Rewrite (by Google)
Google sometimes rewrites the title tag it shows in SERPs, replacing the page's <title> element with text it judges more relevant — a behaviour that became widespread in 2021 and has continued.
In context
Google rewrites titles when they judge yours is keyword-stuffed, inaccurate, too long, or otherwise less useful than alternatives drawn from H1, anchor text, or surrounding content. To minimise rewrites: write descriptive, accurate titles under ~60 characters, lead with the primary entity, avoid stuffing modifiers, mirror the H1 closely. Track rewrites by comparing your <title> to the actual SERP title in Search Console; tools like Ahrefs and Semrush also detect rewrites at scale.
A Toronto agency reduced Google's rewrite rate from 38% to under 10% by tightening titles to descriptive 50-character formulas mirroring the H1 — restoring control of how listings present in the SERP.
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