While most people now understand that content is king when it comes to achieving a great result on the search engines, many people may not realize that one of the most important aspects of your website to drive visitors is the title tag.
The Title tag is the line of text that appears in the top line of your web browser and the first line that most people see when they search for anything on Google.
Title tags work two ways to drive traffic to your website…one being the critical SEO that Google needs to determine how and where it will list you, and the second being the interest it generates to your audience that finds that link on Google to make them want to click it.
Get this nice balance perfected and you could not just be looking at a page one Google success, but also driving more web traffic than any other listing on that page.
So let’s look at 9 interesting tips on title tagging success…
1. Don’t use the Domain Name or Business name in the Title Tag
Many people believe you need the domain name in the title tag. Maybe if you are a huge corporate company and people know you then this will work well…if they are searching for your company.
But if you are a florist business in New York, then your title should reflect this and not so much on your domain name.
For instance, as the example below, if you search for ‘New York Florist’, this is one of the first results out of a possible 18.8 million results….
There is no mention of the business name in the title tag, but the search term I used is in the description.
It is also in the description as well, which gives Google a great indication of where it should be positioned when someone searches for the terms’ New York florist or ‘New York flowers’.
So you will see their business name is not mentioned in the title or description at all!
2. The Homepage should not be called the Home Page!
Many newbies to the web like to call their first page their homepage to let others know it is the homepage. The problem with this is it has no relevance to the product or services you provide, and people won’t be searching for the term ‘homepage’ when they search for your products.
So as tip number 1, name the title to reflect your business services or products, not the name of the page.
3. Always use Keywords in the title tag
As in the example of the florist screenshot, the main reason that particular florist business comes up on the first page of Google over the other millions of florists on Google is fairly simple..they used the right combination of keywords in their title and description. Not too many keywords to spam the title, but also not too little, ensuring a good keyword density.
In fact, if you have one particular niche you are promoting, providing your keywords in the title and the description match the content that is on your homepage well, you almost can’t fail in getting a great result on Google.
4. Don’t make the Title too long
Remember, the title is purely to give Google, and the visitor a brief single-line introduction as to what you do. More than 70 characters are too long for Google, and if you need more than 70 characters you are probably adding too many non-related words in your title. Keep it under 70 characters and straight to the point.
5. And don’t make the Title too short!
As mentioned above, you have 70 characters to introduce your website to the world. Use them. Think of it as a handshake when you first meet someone. “Don’t just say “Hi”, give a bit of a short spiel so they know what you do.
6. The first few words of your title need to make an impression
When you’re on Google you look just like all the other listings, so make sure your description is interesting enough to stand out from the crowd, so they click yours even over another site above your listing.
Briefly add into your Title and description a few points that make you stand out from the crowd. The New York florist for example is “the number 1 florist in New York offering nationwide same-day delivery”. That’s what people want! You’ll get visitors to your site.
7. Don’t just add your business name to the title
Unless people are directly looking for your business name, don’t add it unless you have room left at the end of the 70 characters. Your services or products are probably most likely what they are looking for when it comes to attracting new business.
8. Keep away from a spammy Title
We’ve all seen them before..a title tag full of keywords. Not only does this look ugly on a website, but on Google’s page it just gets lost in the page design, and Google doesn’t favor spammy titles either.
As mentioned above, the title is an introduction to what you do. You wouldn’t repeat yourself constantly to a person in the first meeting with them, so avoid it on your website.
9. Don’t forget the importance of your location if it’s important.
Many small local businesses find great success on Google if they add their location to the title tag. Such as the New York Florist, if they used the term ‘USA Florist’ they would probably just get lost in the Google crowd, but as people are often looking for a local service, especially when it’s flowers, adding your site or suburb into your Title and description can make a huge difference when people search for you.
Add these handy tips into your web page titles and you’ll see your site’s results improve dramatically in no time!
