Here's How to Optimize a Title Tag for Search Engines

Are you a small business owner struggling with generating traffic to your site? As your startup competes with 200 million other sites for traffic, you’ll need a way to stand out. Small business SEO may be your ticket to better traffic, sales, and customers.

On-page SEO allows you to tweak the visible elements of your site — particularly its contents. One of the most important on-page SEO tasks is ensuring that you have a head-turning title. And, by title, we mean the ones you use, not only for blog posts, but also your site’s pages.

Title tags, as they are called, should scream “hey look at me!” to any prospective site visitor. On top of making it stand out, you’ll need to make sure search engines can recognize it.

Due to this, you’ll have to work on your title tags, not just for people, but also for search engines. In this article, you’ll learn about how to optimize title tags for search engines.

If that interests you, then sit back, and stick around for our guide to title tag optimization for SEO!

What’s a Title Tag?

Let’s get the important stuff out of the way before going into tips and tricks. A title tag refers to a series of text usually meant to point towards the title of a website or webpage. Title tags are usually clickable elements written in HTML.

On the search engine results pages (SERPs), your title tag is the clickable text that stands out. Your site’s title tag appears in two places:

• The SERPs
• The browser title bar after the site is clicked
• Social networking sites

Due to the role they serve for your site’s visitors, you need to put some thought into how you write title tags. Optimizing your title tags for search engines will allow your site to be indexed, ranked, and clicked.

Now that we know what a title tag is and why it has to be good, let’s go over some ways to optimize it.

Tip #1: K.I.S.S.

Keeping it short and simple is the first approach you can easily adopt. Granted, it pays to be detailed in how you present your brand and services. However, the title tag is not where you do it.

According to Google’s current best practices, you’ll need to keep your title tags under 60 characters. “Why 60 characters?”, you ask? This is not because Google does not index long title tags. Rather, anything written past the 60-character limit ends up being cut.

This may not be the biggest problem for your SEO. However, it does leave your site’s visitors wondering what was cut. This can make or break your site’s click-through rates and overall visits.

Tip #2: Avoid Keyword Stuffing Like the Plague

On-page SEO is all about content. Content becomes optimized for search engines based on the keywords used. Indeed, using keywords correctly for your content is essential to users finding your site. Use too many keywords in the same place and you’ll sabotage your SEO efforts.

In your title tags, don’t overdo your keyword usage. Google can recognize instances of keyword stuffing and will flag your site for over-optimization — something Google frowns upon.

Tip #3: Be Original with Your Page Titles

As much as possible, every page your user visits needs to have a unique title. Unique title tags for each page helps generate higher click-through rates and a better user experience

Also, Google needs unique labels to identify and index a page’s content. Google might not be able to crawl all of your content, so it will look to your title tags for the relevance of your content.

While it may be efficient to use generic titles like “blog”, “home”, or other commonplace titles, think twice. The genericness of such title tags may cause your titles to be labeled as duplicate content.

Duplicate content means that there is a chance your content will not be indexed.

Tip #4: Lead Off with Your Most Important Keywords

Your keyword research will yield high-value keywords. These kinds of keywords are not only ones that most people search for. These are also keywords that people use before they make purchases or buy a service.

These are the keywords you ought to prioritize. You’ll need them in your title tags. The best way to incorporate high-value keywords into your title tags is by placing them first.

Industry experts have discovered the scanning behaviors of online users. According to numerous case studies, keywords placed that occupy the first two parts of a title:

• Lead to better click-through rates
• Improve user experience
• Allow users to quickly determine your site’s content

Tip #5: Use Your Brand’s Name in Your Title Tags

Indeed, keywords are important. Yet, you also need to capitalize on what might be the most unique aspect of your business — your brand.

Your brand name can be an asset for your SEO efforts. This is especially true if you’ve already developed an online presence or following. Adding your company’s name to your title tag can immediately set you apart from your competitors.

However, do be mindful of where you position your brand in your title tag. After all, you still want users to recognize your company based on your high-value keywords.

Tip #6: Write Your Title Tags with Your Audience in Mind

At the end of the day, your site’s users will reach your site because of your title. Your title can stand out if you write it for both search engines and your audience.

Nothing beats a well-written title that resonates with your audience. With a cleverly written title tag, you can create a head-turning title that foreshadows value you can deliver.

Final Thoughts

At a glance, 60 characters may not mean much. However, when it comes to attracting time-crunched customers, having one can mean the difference between traffic or obscurity.

Title tags are one of the most important on-page SEO tasks for a reason. Writing one takes creativity and an awareness of what people and search engines want.

So, get creative, keep things short and simple, and grab the attention of your audience!

Not sure where to start? Leave it to us! We at Agency Jet have catered to many small businesses with our SEO services and SEO packages.

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