# Title links and snippets

> Google generates title links and snippets automatically and can't change them by hand for individual sites. Title links draw on the title element, visible title, headings, og:title and other prominent text. Snippets come mainly from page content, sometimes the meta description; neither has a length limit, but both are truncated.

- URL: https://geo.casa/content-structured-data/title-links-snippets/
- Reference · Officially documented
- Reviewed: 2026-10-25

## Title links

> **Officially documented:**
> "Google's generation of title links on the Google Search results page is completely automated and takes into account both the content of a page and references to it that appear on the web." Sources include content in `<title>` elements, the main visual title shown on the page and heading elements such as `<h1>`. They also include content in `og:title` meta tags and other large and prominent text.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Influencing title links in Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link)

> **Officially documented:**
> Best practices: "Make sure every page on your site has a title specified in the `<title>` element", write descriptive and concise titles, and avoid vague descriptors like "Home". There is no length limit. The title link is truncated in results as needed.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Influencing title links in Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link)

## Snippets

> **Officially documented:**
> "Google primarily uses the content on the page to automatically determine the appropriate snippet." It may also use the meta description when that describes the page better than other parts of the content.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: How to write meta descriptions](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet)

> **Officially documented:**
> "There's no limit on how long a meta description can be, but the snippet is truncated in Google Search results as needed, typically to fit the device width."
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: How to write meta descriptions](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet)

## What you can and can't control

> **Officially documented:**
> "While we can't manually change title links for individual sites, we're always working to make them as relevant as possible." Changes to title sources are noticed after Google recrawls the page, which can take a few days to a few weeks.
>
> Sources: [Google Search Central: Influencing title links in Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link)

- Influence: accurate `<title>`, a matching visible `<h1>`, a meta description that summarizes the page.
- Restrict: snippet length and use through `nosnippet` and `max-snippet` ([Snippet controls for AI Overviews and AI Mode](https://geo.casa/crawling-indexing/snippet-controls/)).
- Not available: choosing the exact title or snippet Google shows.

## How this wiki does it

Each entry's `<title>`, visible `<h1>` and `og:title` use the same title. Its meta description is the entry's `description` field, a one-sentence summary written for that purpose.

## Sources

- [Google Search Central: Influencing title links in Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link)
- [Google Search Central: How to write meta descriptions](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet)