Best Title Tags For Seo. There are some simple things to learn even if you have never done any SEO before. I have written an article which explains the use of title tags on your website.
The title tag is one of the most important on-page SEO factors. Learn about the best practices for writing strong and compelling title tags that improve your rankings and increase conversions.
I’m sure you all know that title tags are essential for SEO. Knowing what words to include in your title tag, and which ones to leave out is critical. In this article I’ll be going into detail about what makes a great title tag, and how you can use this knowledge to optimize your website.
Best Title Tags For Seo
High level SEO strategy is important. So are the details.
The title tag is just one of many on-page elements we focus on when optimizing pages and content.
Optimizing it alone won’t likely lead to many ranking changes. However, using it in context with other on-page elements can build important context and subject-matter relevance for a page, sections, and sites overall.
Beyond just the SEO impact and focus we put on title tags, we also need to think of the impact they have on the clickthrough rate and compelling our target audience to come to our site.
When the search engines use our title tag as the blue link in the search in the search results page, the contents of that tag can make or break the decision for a searcher on clicking through to our site.
In this chapter, you’ll learn eight best practices for incorporating a solid, optimized title tag plan into your SEO strategy.
What Is A Title Tag?
The title tag is an HTML tag that exists in the head section of each webpage. It provides an initial cue or context as to the topical subject matter of the page it is on.
The title tag features prominently on search engine results pages (SERPs) as it is typically used as the clickable link and also appears in the browser window.
Other than in these two places, the title tag isn’t as visible as other on-page web content (e.g., body copy, image content, and other aspects). For that reason, the title tag can sometimes be overlooked.
On its own, the title tag has little impact on organic rankings. No single ranking factor is magical or powerful – especially if your content is low-quality or you’ve neglected technical SEO.
Here are eight important aspects to consider when optimizing your title tags for search.
1. The Page’s Context Within The Site
Before you can write an optimized title tag, you need to know where the page fits into the overall hierarchy of the website.
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A home page title tag is going to be much different than a blog post or product page.
For websites with a lot of pages, it can be challenging to come up with tags that are different from page to page. That’s why mapping out your site and knowing where each page fits given the context of your subject matter is important.
Each page deeper you get into the site, the more specific you can and should be.
You can repeat words and phrases but should be more detailed each step down into the site you go. Have a plan so that title tags aren’t duplicated on any pages (more on that below).
Here’s an ecommerce example of title tags at different levels of the site that have appropriate context:
- Home Page: Groomsmen gifts and unique men’s gifts by The Man Registry.
- Product Category Page: BBQ sets and utensil gifts for groomsmen by The Man Registry.
- Product Page: 5-Piece Customized BBQ utensil set by The Man Registry.
2. Searcher Intent Keyword Use
We can all relate to times we really want to find an answer to something specific, yet the top ranking sites are answering a different question. The same goes for great content that gets unnoticed.
Knowing what your audience is searching for and how they are searching is critical for title tag optimization.
If you don’t know what words and phrases people are using when they are searching, then you’re at risk of guessing wrong.
Don’t skip keyword research or ignore it when you are optimizing title tags.
You don’t have to worry about every literal version of a keyword or phrase in the current context-based era of SEO, but you also can’t ignore the searcher and their intent. Find balance, use terms consistently, and write in a way that reads naturally to your audience.
Your goal for an optimized title tag is to match the wording that you use with what is being searched for as long as the perceived intent is the focus of the content of the page.
3. Topical Relevance Within The Page
The next step in understanding where the page fits in the hierarchy of the website overall is to evaluate the content on the page.
The title tag is most impactful for search engines and users when it introduces the topic of the page and the same important keywords are used in body copy, image alt attribute, the meta description, URL, and other aspects of the page.
Don’t waste your opportunity to leverage this element, among the other on-page items, by trying to write it to include words, terms, or phrases that aren’t included in the content on the page.
Google can and will ignore tags that aren’t helpful or meaningfully tied to the subject matter of the rest of the page.
You should use words in the title tag that are also used in other parts of the page to tie the topic together.
4. Unique Tags
High level SEO strategy is important. So are the details.
The title tag is just one of many on-page elements we focus on when optimizing pages and content.
Optimizing it alone won’t likely lead to many ranking changes. However, using it in context with other on-page elements can build important context and subject-matter relevance for a page, sections, and sites overall.
Beyond just the SEO impact and focus we put on title tags, we also need to think of the impact they have on the clickthrough rate and compelling our target audience to come to our site.
When the search engines use our title tag as the blue link in the search in the search results page, the contents of that tag can make or break the decision for a searcher on clicking through to our site.
In this chapter, you’ll learn eight best practices for incorporating a solid, optimized title tag plan into your SEO strategy.
What Is A Title Tag?
The title tag is an HTML tag that exists in the head section of each webpage. It provides an initial cue or context as to the topical subject matter of the page it is on.
The title tag features prominently on search engine results pages (SERPs) as it is typically used as the clickable link and also appears in the browser window.
Other than in these two places, the title tag isn’t as visible as other on-page web content (e.g., body copy, image content, and other aspects). For that reason, the title tag can sometimes be overlooked.
On its own, the title tag has little impact on organic rankings. No single ranking factor is magical or powerful – especially if your content is low-quality or you’ve neglected technical SEO.
Here are eight important aspects to consider when optimizing your title tags for search.
1. The Page’s Context Within The Site
Before you can write an optimized title tag, you need to know where the page fits into the overall hierarchy of the website.
Don’t miss any change with daily desktop & mobile ranks as standard!
SEOmonitor’s rank tracking comes with daily mobile and desktop tracking for all markets for just $29.9 / 1,000 keywords. Every subscription has unlimited SEO Research data, SEO Forecasting and (not-provided) solutions for any number of pages.
ADVERTISEMENT
A home page title tag is going to be much different than a blog post or product page.
For websites with a lot of pages, it can be challenging to come up with tags that are different from page to page. That’s why mapping out your site and knowing where each page fits given the context of your subject matter is important.
Each page deeper you get into the site, the more specific you can and should be.
You can repeat words and phrases but should be more detailed each step down into the site you go. Have a plan so that title tags aren’t duplicated on any pages (more on that below).
Here’s an ecommerce example of title tags at different levels of the site that have appropriate context:
- Home Page: Groomsmen gifts and unique men’s gifts by The Man Registry.
- Product Category Page: BBQ sets and utensil gifts for groomsmen by The Man Registry.
- Product Page: 5-Piece Customized BBQ utensil set by The Man Registry.
2. Searcher Intent Keyword Use
We can all relate to times we really want to find an answer to something specific, yet the top ranking sites are answering a different question. The same goes for great content that gets unnoticed.
Knowing what your audience is searching for and how they are searching is critical for title tag optimization.
If you don’t know what words and phrases people are using when they are searching, then you’re at risk of guessing wrong.
Don’t skip keyword research or ignore it when you are optimizing title tags.
You don’t have to worry about every literal version of a keyword or phrase in the current context-based era of SEO, but you also can’t ignore the searcher and their intent. Find balance, use terms consistently, and write in a way that reads naturally to your audience.
Your goal for an optimized title tag is to match the wording that you use with what is being searched for as long as the perceived intent is the focus of the content of the page.
3. Topical Relevance Within The Page
The next step in understanding where the page fits in the hierarchy of the website overall is to evaluate the content on the page.
The title tag is most impactful for search engines and users when it introduces the topic of the page and the same important keywords are used in body copy, image alt attribute, the meta description, URL, and other aspects of the page.
Don’t waste your opportunity to leverage this element, among the other on-page items, by trying to write it to include words, terms, or phrases that aren’t included in the content on the page.
Google can and will ignore tags that aren’t helpful or meaningfully tied to the subject matter of the rest of the page.
You should use words in the title tag that are also used in other parts of the page to tie the topic together.
4. Unique Tags
Duplicate title tags are not helpful to searchers or search engines.
If you have duplicate tags, you’ll see them in Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools reports. Often, you’ll find that the search engines have chosen to ignore your title tag and use other content it found on your page for the blue link text in the SERP.
This is especially true for widespread issues of missing or duplicate title tags.
When multiple pages have the same tag, those tags are useless to the search engine if they are very generic or just list the name of the company or organization. Examples include when the entire site has the exact same title tag that is simply the domain name or company name.
For years, whether due to widespread duplication, improperly formatted tags, missing tags, or just tags with content that Google doesn’t find helpful or useful, Google has substituted page content for the blue link content in the search results page.
In some cases this is okay; in others, it leads to less desirable content in terms of context for the page and also for optimizing for clicks from searchers.
The ideal scenario is to have solid, optimized title tags for users and search engines rather than leaving it to chance.
You can use the data provided in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to find where you have issues as well as run your own tests through any number of on-page auditors and crawling tools like my favorite, Screaming Frog.
If you have duplicate tags within your site, add writing custom tags to your SEO action plan.