The title tag, one of the HTML elements of a webpage, is the title displayed on the SERPs or Search Engine Results Pages. A web page’s title tag on the SERPs is clickable, taking search users into specific pages within the site.
The title tag serves the needs of search engines, search users, browsers, and the web in general, including social networks. This is why title tags are crucial for on-page optimization.
It creates a viable first impression and shows at first glance what the content is about. It’s difficult to achieve good SEO results, thus, without a prioritization of the title tag.
But given that the title tag refers to the visible title on the SERPs, does this mean it’s the same as the headline/title on the web page itself? The answer is yes and no.
The headline tag or H1 tag refers to the headline or title visible on the web page after users have clicked on the title tag and are taken to the specific page itself.
There will be cases where the title tag and the H1 tag are the same; however, some websites will go for a title tag that is unique from (but still primarily related to) the headline tag.
This is usually done for optimization purposes — to ensure proper length, smart keyword use, and the overall ‘message’ of the title tag on the SERPs.