The title tags of your web pages are more important than most web authors realize. Once you understand why the title is so important, you can easily write more effective title tags.
What is the title tag?
In your HTML code, the page title should be placed between the beginning and closing HEAD tags, ideally just after the beginning HEAD tag and before the first META tag.
Why is the title tag important?
The title tag is important for a variety of purposes.
- Most browsers display your page with the title at the top of the browser window.
- If someone bookmarks your page in their browser, their bookmark list will show your page using your page title. So if the title of your web page is "Home Page", as many are, your visitors' bookmark lists will contain a lot of "Home Page" listings. How will they determine which "Home Page" is yours two months from now?
- Google and other search engines present the results of a search by displaying page titles as links in the first line of each query result. Search engines doesn't like to display "Home Page" as the best they can do for a user searching for "purple people eaters," for example.
- Most search engines will order the results of a search engine query based on the relevancy of your page to the keywords used for the query. One of the factors in determining this relevancy is how closely your title matches these keywords. If your small startup company makes purple people eaters, don't give your home page the title "Unknown Business, Inc." It's not relevant to the search. Of course, many people will consider "CNN" or "Time, Inc." as relevant for the keyword "news." When you get to be as well known, you can use your name as your title.
You can see that the title of your web page is highly visible to others, and it can impact the search engine ranking of your web page. It is therefore worthwhile to spend some time carefully writing each page title.
Practial tips for writing title tags
Here are some practical tips you can use for crafting an effective web page title.
- Start by thinking hard about how your potential visitors will search for your site. What keywords or keyword phrases will they use for a search engine query? Use one or two of the most important keyword phrases for your title. In our example, the home page title could be "Purple People Eaters."
- Don't just use the same title for all your web site pages. Your About page title could be "About Unknown Business, Inc., your Source for Purple People Eaters." Your Order page title could be "How to Order Purple People Eaters."
- Don't include your company name in the title unless it is a commonly recognized name or the page is about your company. Use the limited real estate in a title for relevant keywords. You can include your company name in the description of your web page.
- Make sure the title does not exceed 66 characters. Google will not display more than 66 characters of a title in the search results page. Truncated titles irritate search engine users.
- Don't use more than 7-10 words in your title.
If you understand what the title tag is, why it is important, and follow these practical tips for writing your web page titles, your internet visibility will be improved, you will improve your search engine ranking, and you will get more visitors to your web site.
Copyright ? 2005 by Kempton Smith, All rights reserved.
Kempton Smith is a web specialist who helps internet businesses increase their site exposure and gain more visitors. He operates the Ad Buddies banner exchange network. Visit http://adbuddies.com
maid service near Lake Forest ..Not too long ago while looking for businesses that do... Read More
When building your website you might not have a large... Read More
The time it takes to load your site can make... Read More
Do know your audienceIt's important to know your audience. If... Read More
Remember your vision for your company and the brand or... Read More
Making a poorly designed website is one of the easiest... Read More
Why is the quality of your text layout and design... Read More
When I purchase something from a web site I first... Read More
Does your website need a re-design? Here are some questions... Read More
As of September, Smartads went through what so many have... Read More
The internet is filled with sites and they are good... Read More
We will take a look at why your visitors may... Read More
Websites that have multiple pages usually have a Frequently Asked... Read More
There is a widespread confusion among lots of new website... Read More
Setting up a survey on your site is extremely simple... Read More
The landing page or entry page of your visitors is... Read More
My site is working fine. The links work. Content is... Read More
Just because you are a small business with an even... Read More
You have good traffic, but low client sign ups and... Read More
I see a lot of mistakes, but here are the... Read More
First off, I am a designer. Now you're thinking, here's... Read More
If you are trying to sell a product or service... Read More
CSS is a new option for website designers that have... Read More
Everyday we hear that another company goes out of business.When... Read More
To create your own great banner, you only need five... Read More
top rated cleaning service Des Plaines ..The landing page or entry page of your visitors is... Read More
Here is a quick list of components that make a... Read More
Before deciding on which web design company to choose, you... Read More
No, that's not the real question. The real question is... Read More
One product, one long web page: this kind of web... Read More
We all want high impact graphics for our Web sites... Read More
We've all read the countless publications about effective web site... Read More
Never put form over function. Why? Because it's crucial that... Read More
What is web usability & why is it important?Web usability... Read More
There are several graphic software packages available to help you... Read More
Designing your website can be a difficult task especially if... Read More
1. Don't load your web site with a lot of... Read More
Studies done by Jakob Nielson the man touted as the,... Read More
QUESTION: We promote our web site in all our... Read More
"It's good.""You've done a nice job.""I don't like it."At some... Read More
Setting up a survey on your site is extremely simple... Read More
Copyright 2005 Robert EvansSetting yourself up to earn a steady... Read More
Any kid, and their grandmother too, can make a webpage.... Read More
The object of search engines is to give their visitors... Read More
1. Lack of overall strategy and clear definition of success:Most... Read More
To explain my point I need to first confuse the... Read More
10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Reader's Buying... Read More
Where does a person start when setting up a website?... Read More
You've made your website, added a great title and keywords... Read More
This article is the result of a conversation I had... Read More
Web Design |