Tips on Writing Title Tags for SEO
What are Title Tags?
Title Tags are part of the Meta Tags within the HTML of your website. These Meta Tags include a Description, Keywords and the Title Tag. These should be placed within every single page of your website. They are used to provide information about each web page, to be viewed by website users and search engines such as Google.
If you take a look at the image above, this is how Title Tags appear within your browser. If you move your cursor over the tab which you are viewing, then the full Title will appear.
The image on the right shows how your Title Tag will appear within Google search results. Always keep in mind that people will see this title when looking for your company or the services which you have on offer.
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Why do we need Title Tags?
Title Tags inform search engines of the content within your website pages. This enables the search engine to determine the subject of your website, and then rank each page for relevant search terms. This does not mean that you should fill your Title Tags with search terms – remember that search engines DO NOT like spam, and that real people will be able to see these, too.
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How to write successful Title Tags:
- A successful Title Tag needs to be up to 70 characters long. It should be a balance between keyword rich text which the search engines will be looking for, and something which might attract people reading your listing within the search results.
- If you are adding keywords to your text, then always make sure that the most important are listed closer to the start of the title. Those which are not as important can be listed further along.
- Separate keywords with the pipe symbol, instead of using commas, dashes, underscores etc. – unless the keywords are written using those characters. For example: “Search Engine Optimisation | Website Design | Keyword Research”.
- Include your company name within the Title Tags. People who know your company or brand will then notice your name within the Title, and will be more likely to click on your website.
- Don’t duplicate your title tags – each page of your website should have its very own set of Meta Data, including an original Title Tag. Some websites contain the same titles and Meta information throughout every single page. This is likely to be classed as spam by search engines, and will make it much harder for your website to be ranked successfully within the top pages of Google.
- Always ensure that your Title Tags relate to the content on each specific page. For example, if you are working on a page about website design, then you would use web design related keywords and information within the Title Tag – you wouldn’t mention Sign Making, even if you offered this service on another page within the same site.
- Format your Title Tags in this way for best results: Most important keywords for this specific web page | A brief sentence about your company | Company name. Remember: You should never exceed 70 characters, including spaces.
- Title Tags are a one-line sales pitch, so make sure that they are engaging. Visitors to your website can see your titles – not just Google! Research has shown that having a more engaging title can give you better click-through rates than other websites – even those who are even listed higher than you within search results.
Now that you have your Title Tags optimised, you can focus on the rest of your website. For more information on how to apply successful SEO to your site, get in touch with the professionals at Varn today. We look forward to hearing from you.
