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Title Tag Optimization for Google, Yahoo and MSN Made Easy

The title tag is an HTML header element enclosed by the beginning <title> and the ending </title> tags. If you don’t include a title tag into your web page, the browser will simply display the website URL of the page, obviously not an attractive option when you consider where and how title tags are displayed.

How and where title tags are used

• The title tag is displayed in the browser window’s top visible section, sometimes referred to as the title bar
• The title tag is displayed in the search results as a clickable link to the website
• The page title sometimes used in the listings of web directories such as Yahoo, and DMOZ
• The search engines place a great emphasis on the contents of the title tags in their ranking algorithms

The title tag may not seem very significant to most new webmasters since it’s appearance in the top of the browser windows is somewhat concealed. In some instances people don’t even notice its presence in the title bar of browser windows, but be assured search engine make use of the title tag extensively.
Creating and optimizing the title tags on any website whether it’s commercial, or non-profit is the first step toward search engine visibility and the ultimate domination of your niche. It really doesn’t matter if you are selling tangible products on your website or you are trying to generate leads for your business. Well written title tags with your search engine visitors in mind will guarantee not only higher search engine ranking, but also a higher click through rate when searchers find you website listed in the search results pages. Think of your search engine listing as the gateway to your website, the more appealing your title tag is the more visitors will click on your listing.

Based on my experience, creating punchy, persuasive titles will result in higher click through rates and ultimately more visitors for your website. I always recommend writing page titles for your visitors instead of concentrating on keyword densities and perusing other illusive SEO techniques. Artificially increasing keywords density in your web page titles will reduce readability and will results in low click through rates and it may also create user confusion. Standing out in the search results pages with succinct, enticing titles should be your most important consideration before tweaking keyword densities.

The rules of creating Title tags

Although, as webmasters we have a great amount of flexibility writing title tags, we need to get familiar with the search engine’s title tag guidelines. It’s also a good idea to read the rules set by the World Wide Web Consortium. You can find their guidelines on creating title tags here http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/TITLE.html.

In short the following rules apply to title tags:

• The titles tags should be no longer than 60-65 characters. Google displays up to 66 characters of the title tags in their search results, while Yahoo can index up to a 120 characters anything over this limit will be truncated.
• It’s optional, but you should include your company name or website address in the webpage title, somewhere near the end. It’s a smart move that creates visibility for your company and brand name in the search engine results. For instance, if you own a golf course named “Hampton Meadows” in Florida, your title should look something like this <title>Florida Golf Courses - Hampton Meadows Golf Club</title>.

Increasing your search engine ranking and visitors with better written title tags

Here are the top consideration for creating winning title tags for the search engines and your website visitors

• If your website or business has a local focus, create title tags that contain your city, state or region names. Including city, state or county names in your title tags will gives you a better chance for higher ranking on the search engines due to lower competition and your visitors also can decide in seconds if you are the right match for their needs. For instance if you are a license realtor in the San Francisco bay area your title should reflect that like this <title>San Francisco Real Estate Agents - CA Homes For Sale “Business Name”</title>.
• Use keywords in your title, but aim for readability. Using keywords in your titles tags that are relevant to the web page is the first step in creating well optimized title tags. The key point to remember is, the keywords you place in the title tag should be the most often occurring keywords in the web page content. Place the keyword in a logical order within a sentence format like this <title>Get the Cheapest Car Insurance Quotes from “Business Name”</title>.
• Avoid using too many stop words in your title tag. Nothing will dilute the effectiveness of your titles tags like the overuse of stop words. You can find a list of stop words here http://www.ranks.nl/tools/stopwords.html. Essentially, stop words use precious character space in your title tags without any benefits in you search engine ranking such as this example <title>Welcome to Mywebsite.com How to Buy  From Us “Business Name”</title>.
• Use action verbs in your title tags where it’s appropriate. Increase your click through rates in the search engine results with highly charged verbs that draws searchers to click on your listings. Use verbs like get, give, find, discover, reveal, save, protect, increase, decrease etc. For instance <title>Protect your Health, Compare Low Cost Health Insurance Quotes “Business Name”</title>.
• Watch your letter casing in the title tags. Using all capital letters in your page titles will intimidate your visitors even before clicking on your listing in the search results pages. By the same token using all lower case text in the title tag will results in lower click through rates and a lack of interest. Stick with capitalizing the first letter of each word in the title except for stop words. This is a bad example of how to intimidate your visitors and turn them off your products or services <title>FLORIDA REAL ESTATE AGENT OFFERS TOP NOTCH SERVICE “Business Name”</title>.
• You must create a unique page title for every page. Don’t try to cut corners and save time by copying and pasting your home page title to every other page on your website. You worked hard on creating content for your website, don’t waste your efforts by trying to save time with this important step. Once again refer to my advice regarding keyword placement in the title tag in step 2.
• Match at least one heading tag on your web page to the title tag. Heading tag elements are very useful in search engine optimization to give your target keywords emphasis. Take this effective SEO technique a step further and give the search engines an unmistakable clue what your web page is about by inserting a H1, H2 or H3 heading that nearly matches your web page title. In some cases inserting your company or website name in one of the heading tags will result in additional ranking gains. 

In Conclusion

Title tags are the gateway to your website from the search engine results pages and you have complete control over what that title tag says about your organization. You have roughly 60-70 characters to make your point and probably less than a few seconds to grab the web searchers attention. The more compelling, well optimized title tags you can create the higher you will rank on Google, Yahoo and MSN driving more visitors to your website.