How to write title tags for SEO? One of the most frustrating things about SEO is getting everything to work together as it should. There are so many little elements in SEO that sometimes it seems impossible for everything to work out perfectly.
With search engine optimization (SEO), small details on your site pages can have a large impact on your rankings. Title tags, for example, may seem insignificant, but they pack a bigger punch than you’d think.
Just like the title of a book catches your attention, a page’s meta title tag is the first step that invites people to click on your page in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Title tags in SEO are like the title of your book for the demographics of your two most important types of readers; people and robots.
The people need to know what they can expect to find on your page when they click the link. The robots (crawlers) prioritize your page and its content marketing through a ton of factors, with one very important SEO ranking signal being the title tag tool.
Every business can at least practice good on-site optimization. It’s a relatively cheap and easy way to give your website an edge over the (surprisingly) numerous sites that don’t bother to do it.
Along with meta description and on-page optimization, one of the most important on-page ranking factors you have control over is the title tag. Learn more about it in this post!
Related: What is SEO?
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What are SEO Title Tags?
A title tag is an HTML indicator written <title> under the <head> section that labels your page for both real people and search engines. In SERPs, titles appear as the blue anchor text that people click to navigate to your page. They also appear at the tops of browser tabs.
Title tags, as you could probably guess, define the title of the page. They are one of the most important on-page factors for keyword research on-page SEO. Search engines rely heavily on title tags to interpret a page’s topic and determine what to expect from the page content.
The title tags are also used by browsers for tab and bookmark descriptions and by social media sites when you share a link.
They are combined with meta tag checker descriptions by search engines to create the search snippet displayed in search results, and by social media platforms to display when sharing links.
Google’s goal is to deliver up results that are relevant to the searches people make. For the search engine to do that, it has to recognize what different pages on the web are about.
Google discovers this information by looking at the words used on the page, but 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’s given a lot of weight by search engine algorithms in determining what a page is about, since it’s a short and simple way for website creators to signal what’s on the page that follows.
For that reason, title tags are one of the most important on-page ranking factors.
But beyond the role they play in ranking, they’re also extremely important for getting people to click on the link once it shows up in the search results.
The title is the first and most obvious part of the listing, they see it’s big, it’s blue, and people expect it to provide the main information they need about what’s on the page behind that link.
Ultimately, title tags aren’t just about improving rankings, they’re about getting people to click once your webpage does show up in the search engine which you care about the most.
Related Article: Improve Website Traffic with SEO!
Is SEO Title Same as H1?
It is important to realize that your SEO title doesn’t have the same purpose as the title of your post or page (your H1 heading). Your post title is meant for people that are already on your site. It’s telling them what your post or page is about.
In HTML terms, a Title Tag is expressed as “title” and the H1 Tag is expressed as “h1”. Both serve as titles to describe what your webpage is about.
Because both the Title Tag and the H1 Tag share the same broader purpose, it is easy to understand why people confuse them. It is further confused by the fact that a lot of content management systems are set up to automatically match your Title Tags and H1 Tags (and URL too).
But keep in mind that content management systems are set up with the novice user in mind, and not for people who need to pay attention to the finer details of ahrefs SEO checker so they can rank in competitive niches.
The main difference between Title Tags and H1 Tags is where they appear :
- Title Tags are what show up in search engines. It is the hyperlink that searchers will click on. It also shows up in the title bar at the top of the web browser, and is the default title used when someone bookmarks the page. Title Tags do not appear on the actual webpage,
- H1 Tags is what users will see on your webpage. It is in large text and acts as a title for the page. H1 Tags usually do not appear in search engines.
You may be interested: What are Meta Tags?
Do Title Tags Affect SEO?
You don’t have a lot of space for this, but use what you have to differentiate what makes your web page so great. Often this can be accomplished by adding an adjective in front of the descriptive primary keyword or additional description behind it.
For blog posts and articles, a good title tag often looks a lot like a good headline, so you may be able to use the headline you’ve already written.
While title tags are very important to SEO, remember that your first job is to attract clicks from well-targeted visitors who are likely to find your content valuable.
It’s vital to think about the entire user experience when you’re creating your title tags, in addition to optimization and keyword usage.
The title tag is a new visitor’s first interaction with your brand via organic traffic search. It should convey the most positive and accurate message possible.
What is a Good Title Tags?
What is the title of the text? Title tags are important because they let readers know what information will be present when a user clicks on a page.
They are important for the search engines for the same reason, except they also function to determine the relevancy of the web page as a result in a search query.
If Google doesn’t like your title tag, then they may change it to better suit their / user needs. If this happens, you can bet it most likely won’t be to your liking.
The title tag is one of the most important things to get right if you want to do well in Google. It’s not the only thing but if you neglect your title tags you’re making it very hard on yourself. Here are criteria for good title tags.
Use No More Than 66 Characters
- Search engines only show a limited number of characters of the title tag. Google shows the first 66 characters. After that, it simply adds an ellipsis. If you want your title tags to look professional, don’t use more than 66 characters.
- Short titles are easier to read than long ones.
- The less words phrases there are in your title tag, the more value Google attributes to each word. As a consequence, it’s easier for a keyword to score well in a title tag of 4 words than it is in a title tag of 8 words. This is called keyword density.
Make Sure Your Title Tags Accurately Describes Your Page
- The title tag should contain the keyword you want to score with for that page.
- Make sure you use that keyword somewhere on the page itself.
- Use a keyword your visitors use. It’s nice to do well in Google but if it’s with a word nobody uses it’s not really going to do you any good.
Think About What You Want the Page Do
Make sure the title tag and content of the page correspond with the reasons people visit that page. Netbooks reviews of the fastest models will appeal to a different audience and create different expectations than Cheap netbooks.
Put the Keyword First
- Google reportedly attributes more value to the first word in a title tag than the last one.
- Jakob Nielsen’s research shows that the first 11 characters determine whether someone continues to read on or not.
Don’t Forget to Mention Your Brand Name
- Putting your brand name in the title tag isn’t all that important if you’re a small company. But if you’re one of the leading players in your field, it’s a good idea to mention your brand name in your title tags.
- Most companies put their brand name last. Only on your homepage should your brand name be first.
- If you’re an absolute top brand that the majority of people know and trust, it can be interesting to start your title tags with your brand name.
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Separate Your Brand Name from the Page Title
Use a vertical dash (|) or hyphen (-) to separate your brand name from the actual page title.
Write Attractive Title Tags
- If you stuff the title tag full of keywords, you’ll probably score well in Google. But it will make your title tag unattractive and people won’t click on it. So you’re kind of missing the point.
- For a lot of people, the title tag is their first introduction to your brand. Make sure you make a good first impression.
- Your web page’s title tag appears in a list with other search results. Make sure it stands out.
Unique for Every Page
Each page of your website should have a unique title tag. If you can’t decide what a page is really about, how is Google supposed to know?
How Do You Write a Title Tag?
How to write title tags for SEO? One of the first things most website owners learn about SEO is how little power you truly have. A lot of what determines where your website’s pages will show up in the rankings is outside of your control. But those limitations make it all the more important to do what you can with the parts you can control.
To make the most out of the space you have for title tags, follow a few best practices.
Write Unique Titles for Every Page
Every page on your website is unique and your title tags should reflect that. Make sure you customize the title tags on each page of your website so that they accurately describe what’s on that specific page. You want your title tag to signal to search engines what the individual page is about.
Plus, having a clear and accurate title is more useful to anyone who sees the page in the search listings.
Pay Attention to Length
Google and other search engines will display 50-60 characters of a title tag in the search results before cutting it off, so you should generally aim for title tags that are around 50 characters or less.
To be safe, you want the most important or descriptive words in the general SEO keyword toward the beginning so they’re less likely to get cut off. If you like to include your brand name in every title tag (which can be a good idea for recognizable brands), put it at the end, behind the words that describe what’s on the specific page.
Use Your Target Keyword
Every page on your website should answer a question or provide valuable information someone will be searching for. Your website will be more useful to those people if it shows up in search for the right term.
Just when they’re looking for the information you provide. So for each page, you should have a target keyword (or a few) in mind.
Since Google’s algorithm uses the title tag as one of the main ways to determine what a page is about, it’s a good opportunity for you to include the main keyword or keywords you’re targeting for that page.
That makes it clear to Google that this page is relevant for anyone searching for that specific term. Just make sure not to fall for SEO keyword research stuffing.
Be Descriptive of What’s on the Page
When your web page does show up in search engines, a lot of people will decide whether or not to click based on your title tag.
If they click and come to a web page that isn’t what they expect based on the title, they’ll likely click that back button right away and look for another result to try.
You want your title tag to provide an accurate description of what people will see when they choose to visit the web page.
When people’s expectations match what they see on the page, it means a lower website bounce rate and a longer time spent on the site metrics that signal to Google your page is valuable and should keep ranking high.
More importantly, it creates a better experience for your visitors. You want every visitor to like what they see and hopefully come back for more. If your title tag isn’t clear, that’s less likely to happen.
Make a Case for What’s on the Page
You don’t have a lot of space for this, but use what you have to differentiate what makes your web page so great. Often this can be accomplished by adding an adjective in front of the descriptive keyword or additional description behind it.
For blog posts and articles, a good title tag often looks a lot like a good headline, so you may be able to use the headline you’ve already written.
Make sure you really think about what on the page is most valuable or important to your target audience. Your title tag should emphasize the value your page provides to them.
How Do You Write SEO Titles in WordPress?
Here are the steps how to write SEO Titles in WordPress :
- Log into your WordPress Dashboard.
- Click Pages or Posts depending which one you want to set the SEO title for.
- Roll your mouse over the Page or Post you want to set the title and description for, and click the Edit button.
- Scroll down to the All in One SEO Pack section and enter your Title. It will show you a preview of how it may display on search engines.
- Now, fill in your Description.
- Click the Update button to save your Title and Description.
You are finished when you see a “Page updated” message.
What is SEO Title Example?
The purpose of your SEO title is to make people click on it, visit your website and read your post or buy your product. If your title is not good enough, people will ignore it and move on to other results.
Also, as mentioned before, Google uses what has been specified as your page title as a ranking factor input.
So it’s not just about those clicks, you also need to make sure that your page title reflects the topic being discussed on your page and the keyword that you’re focusing on. The page title you use has a direct influence on your ranking.
Knowing what page titles are and why they’re important is one thing. Now it’s time to learn the best practices for optimizing them. It is important to continually review your page’s SEO guide performance and make adjustments over time to help it rank better.
Here are good and bad examples for SEO page title tags.
Best Burgers in London (Good)
Esquire has all three keywords right at the beginning of the title tag, then follows this with a seductively appealing headline (everyone loves a list) and cleverly uses ‘buns’ in order to avoid repetition and keep the character limit to around 60.
Best Burgers in London (Bad)
This is buried far down on-page SEO four of the Google SERP. It’s easy to see why. The brand name and most important keywords are the opposite of where they should be. The headline itself also lacks any description or anything vaguely persuasive to make me want to click.
Nike Trainers (Good)
Keywords are at the front, the brand name is at the end and Schuh has separated its keyword phrases with pipes. These used to be a necessity when writing title tags as the recommendation was to stay away from other punctuation.
Although this is no longer true, pipes still look great on the page and are a clear separator.
Nike Trainers (Bad)
The keyword is nowhere to be seen. In fact it’s probably at the end of the title tag, but because it’s so long it has been cut out by Google. Also note the wilfully inconsistent capitalisation, which makes the link look really spammy.
Radiohead Moon Shaped Pool Review (Good)
Pitchfork has stayed away from a mistake that mine and other review websites make in putting ‘review’ at the start. Searchers do not start their search queries with ‘review’, they start with the artist.
Radiohead Moon Shaped Pool Review (Bad)
Although Mashable should be applauded for trying a different headline approach, the stop words at the beginning of the title tag push the important keywords into the middle and this result languishes on page 4 of Google.
The headline’s great, but the title tag is identical, so perhaps all the wording of the title tag needs is a slight reordering.
Conclusion
Title tags may seem like a facet of beginner’s SEO tips; however, you will argue that title tags play an extremely important role and the way you use them can impact your SEO significantly.
Use all the SEO tools at your disposal wisely and ensure that you’re getting the most out of each on-page SEO link building facet, no matter how small it seems.
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