How to Remove Duplicate Title Tags in WordPress in 4 Easy Steps
You may be surprised to learn that duplicate title tags are a common problem on WordPress sites.
In fact, in our experience, if you have a lot of pages and posts on your site, there’s a good chance that you have at least a few duplicates. We do see this quite a bit when clients first come to us.
While they may not seem like a big deal, duplicate title tags can actually hurt your SEO. That’s because the search engines use them to determine what your site is actually about and how it should be ranked in the search results.
Having duplicate title tags can cause your site to be ranked lower than it should be, so it is essential to remove them as soon as you possibly can.
So, let`s try and explain this in more detail and explain how you can easily remove them.
Table of Contents
What are duplicate title tags?
Duplicate title tags are exactly what they sound like: two or more pages on your site that have the same title tag.
Let`s look at a quick example, you might have a page about “cats” and another page about “kittens.” If both of these pages have the title tag “Cats,” that’s considered a duplicate.
"Martyn, are duplicate title tags bad for SEO?"
Yes, duplicate title tags can hurt your SEO because they can confuse search engines like Google and cause your site to be ranked lower than it should be.
What causes duplicate title tags?
There are a few different things that can cause duplicate title tags.
The most common is simply having multiple pages on your site with the same subject matter. For example, if you have a blog about cats, you might have several posts about different topics related to cats. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for the title tags on these pages to be very similar.
Another common cause is using the same title tag on multiple pages. For example, again you might have another page about cats and another page about dogs. If both of these pages have the title tag “Pets,” that’s considered a duplicate.
How to fix duplicate title tags
The best way to fix duplicate title tags is to simply make sure that each page on your site has a unique title tag. This can be a bit of a challenge if you have a lot of pages, but it’s doable. Here are a few of my best tips:
- Use keyword research to come up with unique title tags for each page on your site.
- Use a title tag generator to help you create unique title tags.
- If you have duplicate title tags on your site, use a free plugin such as the two we have used and still use, Rank Math and Yoast SEO to help you fix them.
Duplicate title tags can, and will, hurt your SEO, so it’s important to make sure that each page on your site has a unique title tag. Follow my tips above and you can easily fix any duplicate title tags on your site.
You may also like our Blog post “DIY SEO for Small Business”
Removing duplicate title tags
Fortunately, removing duplicate title tags is fairly easy to do. I’ll show you how to remove duplicate title tags in WordPress step by step.
How to Remove Duplicate Title Tags in WordPress
Step 1: Install and activate the Yoast SEO plugin
Step 2: Go to Insights » General in your WordPress admin area
Step 3: Click the “Fix issue” button next to “Duplicate title tags”
Step 4: That’s it! Your duplicate title tags will now be removed.
Conclusion
As you can now see, duplicate title tags are a common problem on WordPress sites, but they can and will hurt your SEO if left unchecked. Luckily, removing them is fairly easy to do with the help of a plugin like Yoast SEO.
Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, simply go to Insights » General in your WordPress admin area and click the “Fix issue” button next to “Duplicate title tags.” That’s all there is to it!
Duplicate Title Tags FAQS
Yes, duplicate title tags can hurt your SEO because they can confuse search engines like Google and cause your site to be ranked lower than it should be.
At Cubed Fusion, we always recommend fixing duplicate title tags by making sure that each page on your site has a unique title tag.
You can do this by using keyword research to come up with unique title tags for each page, using a title tag generator, or by using a plugin like Yoast SEO.
You can remove duplicate title tags in WordPress by installing and activating the Yoast SEO plugin. Once you’ve done that, simply go to Insights » General in your WordPress admin area and click the “Fix issue” button next to “Duplicate title tags.”
That’s all there is to it!
If you’re using a well-coded WordPress theme, it’s unlikely that you’ll have any duplicate title tags on your site. However, it’s always a good idea to check and make sure.
There is no definitive answer to this question because it can vary depending on your website and your audience. However, as a general rule, you should aim for around 60 characters or less. This will ensure that your title tag is readable and won’t get cut off in search results.
There are a lot of great title tag generators out there, but some of our favorites include the Title Tag Generator by Moz and the HubSpot Blog Topic Generator.
There are a lot of great WordPress SEO plugins available, but our favorites include Yoast SEO and All in One SEO Pack.
If you’re still seeing duplicate title tags on your site after you’ve installed and activated Yoast SEO, it’s possible that your theme is the cause. In that case, you may need to contact your theme developer for help.
If you’re using a well-coded WordPress theme, it’s unlikely that you’ll have any duplicate title tags on your site. However, it’s always a good idea to check and make sure. You can do this by running a site audit with a tool like Screaming Frog or by using the Yoast SEO plugin.
The best way to prevent duplicate title tags in the future is to make sure that each page on your site has a unique title tag. You can do this by using keyword research to come up with unique title tags for each page, using a title tag generator, or by using a plugin like Yoast SEO.
