There are a lot of different techniques for getting higher search engine rankings for your website. In fact one of the quickest and most effective methods that you can use to create a visible increase in your rankings is to use accurate, keyword-specific title tags. The title tags on a page are what appear in a clickable link on the search engine results page (SERP) which means that changing them to something more accurate and eye-catching can result in more clickthroughs also.
Of the different ways that search engines rate content on a web page title tags are definitely one of the top three that are given the most algorithmic weight. Title tags are just as important as the page’s visible text and the links that point to your pages, if not more so. Most SEO professionals have understood this for a long time, but when webmasters create content it’s one of the most frequently overlooked design aspects for enhancing search engine hits.
Some people might wonder if they should list their company name in addition to their site’s keywords in the title tag of a page, and the answer is unequivocally yes! If your company name is a well-known brand this can be even more important, and if it isn’t then getting wider exposure is never a bad thing.
Much more than just the company’s name should go into your title tag, though. Descriptive phrases will enhance your brand and your search engine traffic at the same time. This way not only do you attract traffic from people who already know your company’s name, you get visits from people who have never heard of you but are looking for what you have to offer specifically.
Title tags should also include specific keyword phrases. For example, if your company was “Jim’s Bait and Tackle”, a company that sold fishing gear, you might want your site to appear if people search for phrases like “cheap fishing bait” or “best fishing poles”. Keyword research is the best way to figure out what your ideal keywords should be. You might want to be even more specific, if your company is a local brick and mortar store you might want to target traffic by your geographical area. In that case your keywords might include phrases like “Boston fishing poles”.
There is more than enough space in a title tag to include most of your keyword phrases. So in this example, you might use title tags like “Jim’s Bait and Tackle – cheap fishing bait – boston fishing poles”. 10 to 12 words in a title tag tend to be an ideal size. You can use hyphens between separate phrases or try and make it look like a readable sentence like “Jim’s Bait and Tackle in Boston carries cheap fishing bait and fishing poles”. It really depends on your personal taste as well as what it seems like people might be more likely to click on. You might want to try each one at different times and see if one set gets more clickthroughs than the other if you’re unsure.
Another helpful technique is to write your page’s tags after the content for a page has already been written by yourself or by a professional SEO copywriter. The writing will often lead to keyword ideas naturally, based on the phrases that are suggested by the site’s text. It’s not recommended to use an exact sentence pulled from the copy as your headline or the page’s title, though, it’s much better to use a unique set of phrases.
Most importantly, make sure you’re not letting your design software take over and set the page title tags for you. Often your website content management systems (CMS) and blog software will use the same title tag for every page, and that’s a quick way to kill your search engine traffic. Make sure every page has its own unique set of keyworded title tags and that your software allows you to customize this information. If not, there should be plenty of programs on the market that can handle the job!
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