Tvmama

1 Comment Written by Atila on August 13, 2008 – 11:13 am

As well as the critical importance of linking and visible page content, the title tag is another really important factor that most search engines use to rank a webpage. Every page on your website should have a unique title tag. What often happens is that a generic title tag is written, and then it is used again and again, as in the following example, a sample search results page for Whitehouse.gov. (This is one of the most common mistakes that occur on websites; so I’d advise you to go and check your own website.)

The title tag is not just useful for the search engine. It is also an extremely important aid for the person who is searching. The title is the first copy they will see in relation to a particular search result. It is also the link, and so it should be the most compelling piece of text, encouraging the reader to click. Many people will scan the title, and, if it doesn’t look useful, their eyes will move to the next search result.

Here are some specific tips for writing title tags.

•Lead with the most important careword for that particular page. Where practical, start off with what is specific about the page and move to what is general. Many websites begin their titles with their brands or organization names, and then follow with what is unique about the page. (This is a very common mistake, so check your website.) If, however, you know that a lot of people search for your brand name and that you are currently not appearing high in search results when that sort of search happens, then putting your brand name as the first part of the title can be a good idea.

This has its drawbacks, though, because people read from the specific to the general. They want to know about the page itself first, and then about the context of that the page. By starting with the general, you are slowing down their ability to comprehend.

•Write your title as you would write a heading. Keep it lean and mean. Strip away as many adjectives and unnecessary words as possible. The fewer words in a title, the greater stress a search engine will give to each particular word.

•Keep the title short. Don’t have more than 60 characters (with spaces), which is roughly eight to ten words. Less is more. If you have longer titles than this, most search engines will truncate the text after the sixtieth character.

The title of this website on U2 has been truncated because Google deems it too long. You will know a title has been truncated when you see an ellipsis (…) at the end of the text.