How to Write Good Title Tags for SEO
How to Write a Good Title Tags
First thing most website owners learn about SEO is how little power you have. A lot of where your website pages will show up in the rankings is outside of your control. But those limitations make it more important to do what you can with the parts you can control.
Every business can at least practice good on-site optimisation. It is a relatively cheap and easy to give your website an edge over the other sites that do not bother to do it.
Along with Meta descriptions and on-page optimisation title tag is another important on-page ranking factors you have control over.
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What is a Title Tag?
A title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title of a web page. Title tags are displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs) as the clickable headline in blue and hyperlinked back to your website for a given result.
It is very important for usability, SEO and social sharing. The title tag of a web page is meant to be an accurate and concise description of a page’s content.
Optimal format
Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name
8-foot Green Widgets – Widgets & Tools | Widget World
Optimal title length
Google typically displays the first 50–60 characters of a title tag. If you keep your titles under 60 characters, research suggests that you can expect about 90% of your titles to display properly.
There is no exact character limit because characters can vary in width and Google’s display titles currently max out at 600 pixels.
On your website the title shows up in the tab at the top of the browser and it is normal for a lot of it to be cut off from view.
The title tag is the spot in the html where you define what will show up in these places.
You would add it to the html in the page header with a tag that looks like:
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<head> <title>Title of Your Page</title></head>
If you use WordPress and have an SEO plugin you can skip the html and add the title tag to your page by filling in the field that is labelled Title or Title tag in your plugin.
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Google’s goal is to deliver results that are relevant to the searches target audience’s make. For the search engine to do that it has to recognise what the different pages on the web are about.
Google discovers this information by looking at the words used on the page. It also gives certain parts of the page more weight than others in determining the page’s content.
The title tag is one part of the page that is given a lot of weight by search engine algorithms in determining what a page is about.
It is a short and simple way for website creators to signal what is on the page that follows. For that reason, title tags are one of the most important on-page ranking factors.
The title tags are a major factor in helping search engines understand what your page is about and they are the first impression many people have of your page.
Title tags are used in three key places:
- Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
- web browsers
- social networks
One case study found that improving the title tag of a webpage led to a 37% increase in web traffic to that page. If you are not optimising your title tags you are missing out on a big opportunity here.
Title tags are such an important part of both search engine optimisation and the search user experience so writing them effectively is a low-effort, high-impact SEO task.
To optimise your limited title tags space for search engine and usability goals, have a look at the following few tips:
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Each page on your website is unique and your title tags should reflect this. You should customise the title tags on each webpage so that they accurately describe what is on that specific page.
Your title tag should indicate to search engines what the individual page is about.
Unique titles help search engines understand that your content is unique, valuable and also drive higher click-through rates.
On the scale of hundreds or thousands of pages, it may seem impossible to craft a unique title for every page.
With modern CMS and code-based templates, this should allow you to at least create data-driven, unique titles for almost every important page of your site.
Having a clear and accurate title is more useful to anyone who sees the page in the search listings.
Google and other search engines will display between 50 to 60 characters of a title tag in the search results before cutting it off by adding an ellipsis (“…”) and could end up omitting important words.
There is a limit to the number of pixels Google will display currently 600 pixels for SEO titles in the search results.
If the title you specify exceeds that pixel limit Google may either deviate from the title you specify or truncate your title so it does not fully display as shown below.
Try to avoid using ALL CAPS titles. They may be hard for target audience to read and may severely limit the number of characters Google will display.
Therefore you should generally aim for title tags that are around 60 characters or less. You need to add the most important or descriptive keywords toward the beginning so Google is less likely to cut it off.
If you wish to include your brand name in every title tag which can be a good idea for recognisable brands, put it at the end behind the words that describe what is on the specific page.
[Product Name] – [Product Category] | [Brand Name]
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Every page on your website should answer a question or provide valuable information that someone is searching for. Your website will be more useful to targeted audience if it shows up in search for the right term about the information you provide.
Since Google’s algorithm uses the title tag as a source to determine what a page is about, it is good practice to include the main keyword or keywords you are targeting for that page.
Avoid titles that are just a list of keywords or repeat variations of the same keyword over and over. These titles are bad for search users and could get you into trouble with search engines.
Since search engines understand variations of keywords therefore it is unnecessary and counterproductive to stuff every version of your keyword into a title.
That makes it clear to Google that this page is relevant for anyone searching for that specific term.
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When your web page shows up in search engines, users will decide whether or not to click based on your title tag.
If they click and go to a web page that is not what they are expecting it to be then they will click the back button right away and look for another result.
You want your title tag to provide an accurate description of what target audience will see when they visit the web page.
When user’s expectations match what they see on the page, it means a lower bounce rate and a longer time spent on the site. This indicates to Google your page is valuable and should keep ranking higher.
It also creates a better user experience for SEO. You want users to like what they see and come back for more. If your title tag is clear then that is more likely to happen.
5. Write for your target audience
While title tags are very important to SEO, remember that your main priority is to attract clicks from well targeted audience who are likely to find your content valuable.
It is vital to think about the entire user experience when you are creating your title tags and also to optimise keyword usage.
The title tag is a new user’s first interaction with your brand when they find it in a search result and it should convey the most positive and accurate message possible.
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6. Be brand conscious
If you have a strong, well-known brand then adding it to your titles may help boost click-through rates.
We recommend putting your brand at the end of the title but there are cases such as your home page or about page where you may want to be more brand focused.
As previously mentioned, Google may append your brand automatically to your display titles therefore be mindful of how your search results are currently displayed.
Why Google would not use my title tag?
Sometimes, Google may display a title that does not match your title tag. This can be frustrating but there is no easy way to force them to use the title you have defined.
When this happens there are three likely reasons:
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1. Keyword-stuffed title
As previously mention above if you try stuffing your title with keywords sometimes called over-optimisation Google may choose to rewrite it. Consider rewriting your title to be more useful to search users.
2. Your title does not match user’s query
If your page is matching for a search query that is not well represented in the title, Google may choose to rewrite your display title.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. No title is going to match every imaginable search but if your title is being overruled for desirable, high-volume searches then consider rewriting it to better match those search keywords and their intention.
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3. Having alternative title on social media
Sometimes if you include an alternative title data like Meta tags for Facebook or Twitter, Google may choose to use those titles instead.
Once again this is not necessarily a bad thing but if this creates an undesirable display title then you might want to rewrite the alternative title data.
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Title Tags should be short but powerful
Title tags are a short and simple part of SEO. They do not require writing much therefore you should not treat it as quick and easy.
Take some time to think about the best keywords to use to signal to Google what the page is about and to communicate to potential target audiences what is valuable on the page.
If you get it right, your title tag can improve your rankings and increase your click-through rates.
Wrapping Up
You can contact our skilled SEO professionals at Best-Digital Marketing. We know how to implement all the necessary SEO strategies and more to enable you to start ranking on Google.
It will save you lots of time and work and will also net better results. Contact us now to learn how Best- Digital Marketing specialist with creative knowledge and experience can help your business improve your Meta description for SEO.
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How to Write Good Title Tags for SEO.