Title tag SEO is the most important part of a web page to optimise and has a huge influence on search engine rankings. If you’re going to optimise anything, then optimise this. Don´t let your content go to waste. Give it every chance to be found on SERPs by doing some kick-butt Title Tag SEO!
The Title Tag
This Tag is part of the HEAD section on every one of your web pages. Visitors won´t see this tag as part of your web page, but they will see it displayed at the very top of their web browser. More importantly, your Title tag becomes the clickable link that is displayed on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). If you can write a compelling, keyword-optimised Title tag that is different for all of your web pages, this will go a long way to improving your rankings.
How Important is it?
The Title tag is the most important part of the web page after the content. This tag along with the description tag is your shop window to passing customers. You have a fraction of a second to stop that passer-by as they throw a glance into the front of your shop. You need to first stop them, then get them interested enough to want to come in. If that person enters your shop by clicking on the link, then this tag has done its job and done it well.
Primary Keywords
Every one of your pages should be written for a reason and should say something different from all the other pages in your website. Therefore, you should be able to sum up every page in 3 words that accurately describes that page. These 3 words will then become your Primary Keyphrase and it is this phrase you want to have at the beginning of your Title tag. It should also be possible to formulate 2 or 3 Secondary Phrases for each page that you would also like to be found for. If these are related to the Primary phrase, then it will be possible to overlap these within your title, while still keeping it readable.
Brand your Tag
Many businesses feel the need to put their brand name at the front of the Title tag for every page of their website. This will tell search engines nothing about each page of your website as it doesn’t differentiate between them. A much better approach is to put the brand name at the end of the tag.
Title Tag SEO
Create your tag by writing a natural reading sentence of between 5 to 9 words that closely describes the content of that particular page, using an overlap of your Primary and Secondary keyword phrases and as few other words like stop words as you can. Stop words are little words that help to string a sentence together (a, an, and, or, if, etc). The main thing is to make it readable and not obviously stuffed with keywords. Don´t repeat a keyword more than twice but rather use a different variation of the word, i.e. optimisation, SEO. People do not spend much time reading pages of results, preferring to quickly scan the page. For this reason try to make it as compelling, concise and as specific as you can. Don´t expect to get it right first time. Small tweaks to a Title tag can have a big result in click-throughs.
Title Tag Summary
- Create a unique Title for each and every page
- Use between 5-9 words & don´t repeat words more than twice
- Front-load the tag with your Primary Keyphrase
- Overlap Key-phrases to produce multiple variations
- For Branding, use the company name at the end of the tag
- Avoid duplicate Title tags within your website
- Ensure you have a Title tag!
Social Matador Tip
By organising your pages into clear and specific categories and sub-categories, it will be easier to create unique and specific Title Tag SEO.
