Google changing title tags to branded

[pauledwards]

Hi guys and gals, i noticed in the results today Google has been changing my title tags so that brand: is in the front of it all.

This is not in the code but my title tag structure site-wide is keywords and then always | brand on the end.

Why has this happened does anyone know? does it affect my first keyword in the title tag, i guess Google might do it as it recognises the brand and wants users to know it?

[pauledwards]

Ah ours are 69 lol, this makes sense. Though it happened today and i saw competitors have it today.

[JoelBurke]

Hi,

How long are your title tags? A new algorithm change that happened over the summer affects the way truncated titles appear in the SEPRs. The highlights: any title that is over 68 characters is no longer cut off and truncated; instead Google can produce a title algorithmically if the title element is too short or too long. If we would like to have control over the title item, that it must be within the new requirements (25ish to 68ish characters)

Here are the details from the update:

• "Trigger alt title when HTML title is truncated. [launch codename "tomwaits", project codename "Snippets"] We have algorithms designed to present the best possible result titles. This change will show a more succinct title for results where the current title is so long that it gets truncated. We'll only do this when the new, shorter title is just as accurate as the old one."
• "Efficiency improvements in alternative title generation. [launch codename "TopOfTheRock", project codename "Snippets"] With this change we've improved the efficiency of title generation systems, leading to significant savings in cpu usage and a more focused set of titles actually shown in search results."
• "Better demotion of boilerplate anchors in alternate title generation. [launch codename "otisredding", project codename "Snippets"] When presenting titles in search results, we want to avoid boilerplate copy that doesn't describe the page accurately, such as "Go Back." This change helps improve titles by avoiding these less useful bits of text."

Soruce:

http://insidesearch.blogspot.ca/2012/06/search-quality-highlights-39-changes.html

Cheers!

J

[pauledwards]

Hi Martin its non brand terms, and ive noticed some competitors today get it also.

[Martin_Harris]

Is it branded or non branded search terms you're using in the SERPs? Google has a habit of changing branded meta titles when it see's fit.