# On-page SEO & content structure German title: Onpage-SEO & Content-Struktur > Google generates title links and snippets automatically from page content. Documented are unique, descriptive titles, a separate meta description per page, images with alt text and short file names, and content for people (Who, How, Why). Google names no fixed character counts, word counts or keyword positions. Manfred Sulzmann: “On-page SEO is translation work: you tell the search engine in its vocabulary what the page is about.” ## Facts - **Title element:** unique, descriptive, concise - **Meta description:** own per page; Google uses it only occasionally - **Images:** img with src, alt text, descriptive file name - **Content:** for people; Who, How, Why - **Word count:** not a criterion per Google ## Titles per Google documentation - Every page needs a element with distinct, descriptive and concise text. Long titles get truncated. - No keyword stuffing; no identical titles across many pages. - Site name at the start or end, with a delimiter. - The page's main title should be visually prominent, for example as the first . - Titles in the language of the page content. ## How Google forms the title link According to Google, generation is “completely automated”. Sources include the title element, the visible main heading, heading elements, og:title, anchor text and WebSite markup. Changes take “a few days to a few weeks” because Google must recrawl. ## Heading structure A clear outline with H1 for the main topic, H2 for sections and H3 for details helps readers and machines orient themselves. Google's title-link page names the first visible H1 as an example of the main title; further H-tag rules were not verified in this check. ## Meta description and snippets - Snippets are generated automatically from page content and adapt to the query; they cannot be changed manually for individual sites. - Google uses the meta description only occasionally, when it describes the page more accurately than the page content. - Each page should have its own accurate description; the home page and listing pages may get a site-wide one. - Content: a short, relevant summary, for articles e.g. with author and publication date. Avoid keyword lists, purely personal text and very short entries. - Google names no upper limit; results are truncated as needed, depending on device width. max-snippet limits length, nosnippet and data-nosnippet prevent snippets fully or partly. ## Images - Google finds images via the src attribute of , also inside ; CSS background images are not indexed. With srcset , keep an with src as fallback. - Alt text: the most important metadata of an image and also accessibility. Write it informatively and in context, no keyword lists. - Short, descriptive file names instead of IMG00023.JPG . - Place images near the relevant text; Google also infers the topic from captions and titles. - Supported formats: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG, AVIF. Images are often the largest part of page weight and should be optimized. ## Helpful content as the yardstick Google asks for content created primarily for people. The checks are Who (is it clear who created the content?), How (how was it produced, including AI assistance?) and Why (is it created to help people?). Further questions concern original information, analysis, sources and expertise. A particular word count is not a criterion according to Google. This page makes no statement on keyword placement. ## Not verified The H1/H2/H3 outline is a recommendation without its own primary source. Google gives no values for keyword placement or the ideal length of title and meta description. ## Sources - Google Search Central: Influencing your title links (primary source) - Google Search Central: Snippets und Meta-Description (primary source) - Google Search Central: Image SEO best practices (primary source) - Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content (primary source) Checked on: 24 October 2026. ## Questions ### How long should the title be? Google gives no fixed character count. Long titles are truncated, so keep them concise and descriptive. ### How many H1 can a page have? Google gives no number. The main title should stand out visibly, for example as the first H1. ### Can I determine which title Google shows? Not directly. Google generates title links automatically and does not always show the title element. You influence them via title element, visible main heading and anchor texts; changes take days to weeks. ### Does Google show my meta description? Only occasionally: when it describes the page more accurately than the page content. Snippets cannot be changed manually. ### How long should the meta description be? Google names no upper limit; results are truncated as needed. An ideal character count is not verified. ### How important is alt text? Google calls it the most important metadata of an image. It should be informative and not a keyword list. ### Is there an ideal word count? No, according to Google a particular word count is not a criterion. ## Related - [SEO basics for knowledge portals](https://munichmedia.com/reports/seo-basics-fuer-wissensportale.md) - [Technical SEO: fundamentals](https://munichmedia.com/reports/technisches-seo-grundlagen.md) - [Internal linking & topic silos](https://munichmedia.com/reports/interne-verlinkung-themen-silos.md) - [Core Web Vitals & performance](https://munichmedia.com/reports/core-web-vitals-performance.md) Canonical HTML: https://munichmedia.com/reports/onpage-seo-content-struktur