Boy if that doesn’t sound like nonsense. SERP what?
Search Engine Results Page is what I am talking about. Now why am I talking about this? Simply because as I learned Google reserves the right to modify the title of your page/URL.
A few days ago I changed my site title from something that was 4 words to something that was two words. I noticed two things. One of my old SERP pages with the old title still shows with the old title. Perhaps that will change in a month if Google chooses to revisit them as I have requested in my sitemap. Two, the shorter site tag of two words looks like it is being appended at the end of the title on all posts, unlike the longer 4-word title.
To me, this says that Google prefers a shorter site title in SERP results. I have noticed that many popular websites don’t have site titles, taglines, or even logos. I assume this is because the majority of website traffic is coming from mobile devices and those limited screens aren’t helped by that information. It has made me rethink my own header to better be capable and flexible with mobile visitors.
I wrote yesterday that Google decides what content we see on the web. I don’t like that. I am not fond of gatekeepers because they always twist things to their advantage. I think that people are seeing the bias that large companies have and pivoting to get information and news from other more trusted sources to them. I don’t think social media is more trustworthy, but standard media has thoroughly discredited itself from being a serious outlet. Why have we thrown out integrity for the almighty dollar? If we can’t trust anyone, as a society how can we make helpful decisions?
Just be aware that the title you get from Google may turn into click-bait and that Google seems less trustworthy the more I learn about it.