The title of your web page is the most important piece of content in terms of SEO. That’s because the HTML Title is the text within the “<title>” tag that can be found on the head of the HTML code, and it is the most prominent element that appears in search results. There are secondary and tertiary reasons that web page titles are important: 1.) Title relevancy is taken into account by Google algorithms (this is especially true after Google Panda), and 2.) Good, descriptive titles can increase the click through rate of the web page.
Here are some ways to help your web page title improve your SEO:
1. Make titles short.
Google has a maximum title length of 64-70 characters, so keep your titles in that character range. Anything longer, and Google will cut down its display in the search results.
2. If you’re writing SEO friendly web page titles, you must use keywords.
Identify the keywords of your web page content (use the Google AdWords Keyword Tool if you need some help). The keywords and phrase you choose for your title will be displayed in search engine results as a clickable link; for that reason alone, your title should contain the primary keyword you choose. Don’t forget to make that keyphrase the first words of the title, when possible. Good SEO companies do this as often as possible.
3. …But not too many keywords.
There is a flip side to keyword usage in titles, and it’s that using too many keywords in your title is a big no-no. Yes, cramming all your keywords into your title is keyword stuffing, a dreaded black hat technique of unsavory SEO companies. Even if you manage to rank first when doing this (which isn’t likely because of Google Panda), your over optimized title will almost surely reduce your click through rate, because savvy users will spot the stuffing immediately, be turned off by it and quickly click on a link – but it won’t be yours.
4. Be Descriptive.
Your title should summarize the content of your web page. It’s the best way to let users know what the topic of your page is when they see it in search engine results. It also helps you decrease the “bounce” rate (users seeing the result but failing to click on the link) – and, increase the click through rate, which is should be a top objective of any SEO company.
5. Make titles unique.
Just as you don’t want to publish duplicate content, you never want to use duplicate titles. In the eyes of Google, duplicate titles are often on par with duplicate content and the page may be penalized.
Writing SEO friendly web page titles is a simple, but thoughtful game. Follow the steps here to start writing better web page titles today.
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