The title tag is one of the more important tags in a page. The title gives information about the contents of the page and the search engines use it in a great deal to determine relevance to a search query.
The title is important for the search engines to rank high and it tells your visitors what the page is about. Let’s first look at which rules to follow when writing a title for a page:
Use about 60 to 70 characters
Make sure your keywords are in the title
Make it attractive
The title is meant to show up in the bar at the top of the window. So the length is important. If it is too long, only the first part will be visible. Higher resolution screen can show more characters but first of all, not everybody has a high resolution screen and second: Search engines won’t show more than the first 60 to 70 characters in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Making them much longer just doesn’t have any purpose. You can leave them shorter of course, depending on the content of the page.
For good rankings in the search engines it is wise to include the phrase(s) that you want to rank high on. There are many opinions on the necessity of repeating keywords in the title, but I would advise not to repeat it more than once. Of course it depends a lot as well on the phrase it self. 2 short words can be repeated, while a phrase of 3 long words is difficult to repeat. First thing to ask your self is if the title makes sense to the visitor. If it does, you’re doing fine.
The last rule is probably the most important rule. Make the title as attractive as it can be. There is a property of a title that is often forgotten and that is its click through rate.
Click Through Rate? Isn’t that something that applies to PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising and similar things? Yes it is, but it also applies to the titles of your pages. Suppose your page shows up in the SERPs on average 100 times per day, and as a result you get 1 visitor per day. Then the click through rate of the title is 1 %. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get that up to 25% or 50% or even more perhaps?
In the SERPs, the title is the face of your page. It needs to be attractive enough and stand out between the other 9 titles. So take a look at the SERP you want to rank high in and look at those titles. While designing the titles for your pages, compare them with the other titles in the SERPs. Make your titles stand out and receive even more visitors. SEO is about more than just high rankings.
Making the Title Attractive
The title is important for the search engines to rank high and it tells your visitors what the page is about. Let’s first look at which rules to follow when writing a title for a page:
Use about 60 to 70 characters
Make sure your keywords are in the title
Make it attractive
The title is meant to show up in the bar at the top of the window. So the length is important. If it is too long, only the first part will be visible. Higher resolution screen can show more characters but first of all, not everybody has a high resolution screen and second: Search engines won’t show more than the first 60 to 70 characters in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Making them much longer just doesn’t have any purpose. You can leave them shorter of course, depending on the content of the page.
For good rankings in the search engines it is wise to include the phrase(s) that you want to rank high on. There are many opinions on the necessity of repeating keywords in the title, but I would advise not to repeat it more than once. Of course it depends a lot as well on the phrase it self. 2 short words can be repeated, while a phrase of 3 long words is difficult to repeat. First thing to ask your self is if the title makes sense to the visitor. If it does, you’re doing fine.
The last rule is probably the most important rule. Make the title as attractive as it can be. There is a property of a title that is often forgotten and that is its click through rate.
Click Through Rate? Isn’t that something that applies to PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising and similar things? Yes it is, but it also applies to the titles of your pages. Suppose your page shows up in the SERPs on average 100 times per day, and as a result you get 1 visitor per day. Then the click through rate of the title is 1 %. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get that up to 25% or 50% or even more perhaps?
In the SERPs, the title is the face of your page. It needs to be attractive enough and stand out between the other 9 titles. So take a look at the SERP you want to rank high in and look at those titles. While designing the titles for your pages, compare them with the other titles in the SERPs. Make your titles stand out and receive even more visitors. SEO is about more than just high rankings.
Making the Title Attractive
So how do we do make the title attractive? There are a couple of things that are important to know.
The title needs to "stand out" between the other 9 titles in the SERP
The title should address the action the searcher has in mind (while still being related to the search phrase) Address the searcher personally
Title stands out
The title needs to "stand out" between the other 9 titles in the SERP
The title should address the action the searcher has in mind (while still being related to the search phrase) Address the searcher personally
Title stands out
The Goal here is to make your title be the first thing people look at. In order to know how to make the title stand out, you need to do a search for your main keyword phrase for that page.
Are most titles long? -> Make your title short
Are most titles short? -> Make your title long
Use a short start phrase (the main keyword phrase) followed by a “ – “ Etc.
There are so many SERPs, it is difficult to set a simple set of rules. But one thing you can do is to copy all titles into a word document (just the titles, not the snippets) so you can look at them line after line. Does any title stand out? Add your own title to it, and look at it again. Ask other people to look at that list and ask them to tell you which title draws their attention. This may be something you don’t do in 5 minutes, but it may very well be worth the time spent.
Title addresses the action the search has in mind
This one is very important. After attracting peoples attention, the title needs to address the action they have in mind. A few examples:
Widget Paint – Your widgets look better with Widget Paint
2 Widgets – Connecting 2 Widgets
Widget manufacturers – Widget reviews Etc.
Title addresses the searcher personally
Widget Paint – Your widgets look better with Widget Paint
2 Widgets – Connecting 2 Widgets
Widget manufacturers – Widget reviews Etc.
Title addresses the searcher personally
Also important. An action that a searcher has in mind is often personal. This does not mean every action has a personal goal, but still it is often possible to be personal, using words like "you" and "your".
A title doesn’t have to follow all things above, often 1 or 2 is enough! It depends of course very much on the subject. Some subjects are easier than others. Do follow your instincts, they’re often the best guide, if you just would allow them and listen to them.
A title doesn’t have to follow all things above, often 1 or 2 is enough! It depends of course very much on the subject. Some subjects are easier than others. Do follow your instincts, they’re often the best guide, if you just would allow them and listen to them.
1 comment:
awesome advices...thanks for sharing. will definitley be handy
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