The title tag in SEO

Title tag optimization: key best practices for title tags

The title tag is an HTML element found on every page of your website. Title tags give users context about the page they are about to visit.
Title tags are only visible on the search engine results page, at the top of the browser window, and on some social media pages.
Despite this rather discreet presence, they are important and valuable for SEO rankings.

What are title tags, and why do they matter?

Title tags matter for SEO because they give both users and search engines context about the page in question. They are one of the key SEO levers that help search engines understand what your page contains.

As Googlebot and Bingbot crawl pages, they take note of the title tags and use the keywords in each one to better understand what the page is about and how it may be relevant to searchers.

When browsing the search engine results page (SERP), the title tag is the first thing users see, so your first impression has to count. Searchers want answers fast, which is why optimizing your title tags is necessary to compete with the other sites in the SERP and give users what they want. Beyond providing context, your title tags can help you build your brand, or give you leverage in the SERP through brand recognition.

There are a number of factors to consider when writing the best possible title tags, so we have compiled the title tag best practices to include in your site's SEO strategy.

Where title tags appear

Title tags appear in the list of Google and Bing search results. This makes them important both for SEO and for marketing your site. The title tag may be the first impression people get of your site, so it needs to be a good one.

But keep in mind that your title tag will also show up in other places where people will see it. Title tags are displayed in the web browser tab, as well as on social media sites when people share a link to the page. Browsers and social networks (facebook, twitter, ...) pull the title and use it to give people an idea of what the page is about.

Optimize the format of your title tag

The first step in optimizing title tags is understanding which format works best. There is no single right or wrong way to write title tags, but some approaches have become the norm. Formatting a title tag is fairly simple, however a number of factors may change the strategy, including length and the type of page you are optimizing.

Applying the following pattern every time is a sensible default for writing a page title:

Primary keywords | secondary keywords | brand

This pattern is short and simple, and makes it easy to target specific keywords. According to Google itself, the best practice for title tags is to be "descriptive and concise".

The average search query is only 3 words long, so it is best to target good descriptive keywords that fit this format.
There are other ways to format your title tag, including keyword mashups. After all, shorter queries bring more traffic, while longer queries are less competitive.

Other strategies include title tags designed for informational pages or blog posts, which more often use long-tail keywords or phrases to target longer, more specific search queries.

Google's crawlers can understand a wide range of characters, letters, numbers and contextual clues that may support or change the meaning of a title tag. Using characters or punctuation to split keywords properly can help your SEO while making your title tag less confusing and easier to read.

Other title tag examples could look like this:

Target keyword 1 | Target keyword 2 | brand
Target keywords 1, 2, 3 & 4 | For sale
Target keywords 1 and 2 - Brand!
Target keyword 1 (and target keyword 2)
Include target keywords in a sentence | brand

Characters such as hyphens (-), ampersands (&), plus signs, vertical bars (|), commas and periods can all be used safely in the title tag.
Punctuation marks such as exclamation points and question marks are also fine, as they can be helpful to searchers. Search engines generally ignore these punctuation marks. The truth is that there are few wrong ways to write a title tag, as long as it is honest, accurate and not too long. But following these title tag optimization best practices will give your SEO an edge (over your competitors).

Some characters and punctuation marks are ignored, but others are read by search engines as "separators", deliberate ways of splitting keywords, especially pipes (|), hyphens (-) and colons (:). Be careful not to overuse them if you want several words in the title to be associated with each other.

Give every page a unique title

Coming up with a unique title tag for the thousands of pages on your site may seem daunting, but it is necessary to help search engines understand that your pages are unique and valuable. Most content management systems (CMS) automatically pull the page's H1 to use as the meta title, which is fine in most cases, but not ideal for getting the most out of your title tags in SEO.

In the HTML code, the title tag will look like this:

<title>Example title</title> 

and it sits between the <head> and</head> tags. This code can be generated automatically by your site's code or your CMS (such as Wordpress), but the final title should vary from one page to the next.

A good SEO strategy involves a keyword research process, building on existing rankings and tailoring title tags so they perform better over time.

Avoid generic or auto-generated title tags such as "Home" or "Blog", as they could lead Google to think you have duplicate content across several pages of your site. These title tags also tend to get a lower CTR (click-through rate), because besides being bland, they give no context about what exactly is on the page.

When optimizing title tags, it is also important not to target the same search keywords on several pages of your site, to avoid keyword cannibalization.

Using the same keywords on several pages means your pages compete with each other for rankings. As a result, both pages may end up ranking lower, and your conversion rate will suffer. This can also happen if you target two very similar keywords.

Put your most relevant keywords first

Moving your traffic-driving keywords closer to the beginning of the title tag also has a slight impact on your search rankings. Not only does it affect rankings, you will also see better click-through rates. Searchers want answers fast, which is why they usually only scan the first few words of the title.

To make the best impression and increase conversions (CTR), your most relevant keyword should come first, followed by your secondary keywords, then your brand if appropriate. This also reduces the risk of your important keywords being cut off in the SERP.

Watch the length of your title tag

When optimizing title tags, you also need to pay attention to length. Title tags should not exceed 50 to 60 characters, otherwise they may be truncated in the SERP, or, if your title is not good enough, Google will automatically show a different one.

This could cut off important words or your brand, and hurt your click-through rate. Title tags between 15 and 40 characters actually have an 8.6% higher CTR than title tags outside that range, so keep this in mind when writing your title tags.

Google also takes the pixel width of your title tag into account. The actual length limit is around 600 pixels, so simply keeping the character count below a certain number will not guarantee that your title tag won't be cut off in the SERP. Pixel width matters because some characters are wider than others, but fortunately there are a few online tools you can use to check the length of your title tags.

When in doubt, keep your title tag descriptive, concise and accurate.

Take advantage of branding opportunities

A well-known brand can also help increase your CTR (click-through rate) when you include it in the title tag. If you can fit it into the title tag, you should always try to, but even if your brand is not well known, putting it in your title tags is still a way to build it.

Brand recognition plays a huge role in search, because greater consumer awareness helps build trust in your brand.

Google encourages brands and businesses to include their brand name in the title of their home page in particular, although the search engine usually adds it or moves it to the beginning of the title automatically.

Write title tags with the user in mind

It is important to remember that despite all the effort that goes into good SEO, your title tags are ultimately meant for humans!

The main goal of targeting keywords in your title tags is to reach users looking for products or services and guide them to what they want. When optimizing title tags, keep in mind the words or phrases searchers use to find the products you sell.
Even if you rank well in the SERP, a poorly written title tag can keep you from getting clicks. Search engines put the user first and their main goal is to serve users the best content, so thinking about the user will benefit you too.

Aligning your SEO goals with search intent and user experience will not only help you reach potential customers, it will also make you more effective and competitive in the SERP.

This is also why there is little point in writing misleading, clickbait or vague title tags. If the actual page does not match what the title led people to expect, chances are they will simply leave. What's more, if your title tag keywords do not match the page content, Google may not rank that page as well.

That is why it is best to keep the human element in mind when carrying out your title tag optimization strategy. Keeping them clear, concise and written around a precise keyword strategy is the most likely way to get the best results.

Conclusion

The title tag is one of the most important ranking factors in SEO.
Its content must be unique for each page and follow these guidelines:

• Target one word or phrase per page
• Keep it under 600 px, or 50 to 60 characters
• Keywords or phrases should come at the beginning of the title tag
• The title should be engaging and make people want to click (CTR)
• The title should match the content of the page