Google Increases The Length Of Titles And Descriptions 2016
Google happens to be seen to be experimenting with its systems and rules everytime. It's kept applying A/B testing and checking which test is suitable and good for its users and search engines. One such change that Google recently made in its search result page is extended length of titles and descriptions. It was first observed by Ross Hudgens on Twitter, and then reported by Jennifer Slegg in the SEM Post. Let us take a look at what changes have been made in detail.
Title tags which were earlier limited to only 50-60 characters have finally been increased to 70-71. This provides us a chance to easily fit in atleast one more or two words. Earlier, when the characters exceeded 60 characters, Google would truncate the title with ellipses.
Meta descriptions also provide increased to 100 characters per line. Moreover, the lines have increased from 2 to 3 now. This appears like a substantial change which lets searchers learn more about what the page has to say. However, Google is still truncating the descriptions to two lines for a lot of search results, which means that you will still be seeing 160 characters at times. Otherwise, 278 characters per line will be displayed.
But, you must remember that this is only a test by Google which may be reversed at any time. So, if you are planning to abide by these new rules, it would be a good idea to wait and check whether the change becomes permanent or not. Don’t be in a hurry to base your SEO efforts on these numbers yet.
Based on Reddit, this change was brought about on 4th May but, it has arrived at notice only recently. According to Reddit, “The analysis that I’ve done indicates that Google updated the search results layout to give organic listings an increased title tag size - in addition to increased width from the Featured Snippets/Answer Boxes, but have decreased the height of the Featured Snippets/Answer Boxes.”
Redditor Jonathan Jones claims that the change has impacted CTR positively that could mean that the change is here now to stay. He recommends to check on your CTR before 4th May and today to see if you can notice any changes. However, you have to remember that there are {all kinds of other|several} factors that affect CTR too. So, it is advisable to stay calm and not to rush until Google confirms that the change is here to stay.
Title tags which were earlier limited to only 50-60 characters have finally been increased to 70-71. This provides us a chance to easily fit in atleast one more or two words. Earlier, when the characters exceeded 60 characters, Google would truncate the title with ellipses.
Meta descriptions also provide increased to 100 characters per line. Moreover, the lines have increased from 2 to 3 now. This appears like a substantial change which lets searchers learn more about what the page has to say. However, Google is still truncating the descriptions to two lines for a lot of search results, which means that you will still be seeing 160 characters at times. Otherwise, 278 characters per line will be displayed.
But, you must remember that this is only a test by Google which may be reversed at any time. So, if you are planning to abide by these new rules, it would be a good idea to wait and check whether the change becomes permanent or not. Don’t be in a hurry to base your SEO efforts on these numbers yet.
Based on Reddit, this change was brought about on 4th May but, it has arrived at notice only recently. According to Reddit, “The analysis that I’ve done indicates that Google updated the search results layout to give organic listings an increased title tag size - in addition to increased width from the Featured Snippets/Answer Boxes, but have decreased the height of the Featured Snippets/Answer Boxes.”
Redditor Jonathan Jones claims that the change has impacted CTR positively that could mean that the change is here now to stay. He recommends to check on your CTR before 4th May and today to see if you can notice any changes. However, you have to remember that there are {all kinds of other|several} factors that affect CTR too. So, it is advisable to stay calm and not to rush until Google confirms that the change is here to stay.
