How to Optimize Your Web Page Titles for Google
Web page titles, known as title tags, constitute an important SEO practice to climb in the Google search rankings. Title tags are presented in search engines as a clickable headline, providing an important description of a Web page’s content for social sharing and SEO purposes.
With the importance that page titles hold for search engine optimization and user experience while conducting a Google search, knowing a few optimization recommendations can help you write title tags effectively with little effort, giving you a huge boost in SEO.
Create Unique Titles
Creating titles that are unique and different helps tell Google that your content has value and will ultimately lead to higher click-through rates. No matter how difficult you may think creating a unique title for every page is, it is very important not to use default titles like “Home” or “Product Page.” These are not descriptive enough and will cause Google to categorize these pages as duplicate content.
Pay Attention to Title Length
Keeping your title between 40–60 characters helps prevent search engines from cutting off the title in the search results. If the title tag for a Web page is cut short, it can lead to important keywords not displaying. Also, avoid using ALL CAPS. Not only will it limit the number of characters Google displays, but this also makes it harder for a search user to read when looking at search results.
Research Top Performing Keywords
Since titles can be a great tool for search engine optimization, knowing how to use your website’s most effective keywords within the title can give you an advantage. When you write your Web page title tags, use the top-preforming keyword for that page first in the title. If you have a page that has more than one related keyword, put them in order of value. By doing keyword research (Keyword Planner in AdWords is a great free tool), you can determine where each of the keywords you are using ranks in value. User experience research also shows that people may scan as few as the first two words of a search-results headline, so make sure they are relevant!
Avoid Keyword Stuffing
Speaking of keywords, we’ve counseled many times when it comes to SEO best practices not to stuff your website with keywords. The same applies to Web page titles. Even though there is currently no penalty by Google for long title tags, your site will get into trouble when titles from a Web page are stuffed full of keywords that promote a poor user experience.
Support with Readable Content
Of course, our goal with title tags is to improve SEO optimization, so it is also important to remember that you are writing to attract potential visitors to your site and have them find value in your site. The titles you create are a visitor’s first impression of your website and can make or break their decision to visit or not. Think of a user’s experience when you write a title, while at the same time considering which keywords will be most valuable and relevant to your ideal customer.
Creating relevant, optimized Web page titles takes some practice, testing, and experience. Don’t be afraid to experiment, especially with highly relevant keywords that can help search-engine users find what they’re looking for. Oftentimes, businesses here in Houston, Texas, and elsewhere find that it’s a task best left to the pros. That’s why Studio Brand Collective offers Web page title optimization as part of our standard SEO packages for clients. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help your website climb the Google search rankings, give us a call today at (713) 863-1141!
