What’s in a Tag: How Title Tags Create Value for Your Site Visitors and Search Engines

The Title Tag or the main text that describes an online document is perhaps the most important element of on-page SEO.  It is designated and visible in three key places:

• above a browser’s search tab
• a Search Engine’s Results Page (SERPs)
• and in external websites as anchor text links

It serves to provide brief and instantly understood description of a page’s content to both search engine-indexing robots and web-surfing humans alike.    As such, title tags should be written with these two users in mind.

Leading SEO specialist SEOMoz.com recommends the following “SEO Best Practice” when creating title tags:

Create a Tag with Relevancy in mind

You can either create descriptive title tags by using a keyword as the first word of the title tag, or you can use a keyword anywhere in the title tag.  Either way, you will have established how the keyword specifically points to the topic of your web page.

Length Matters

You only have 70 characters maximum display.  Make it count by summing up your content within the first few words of your description.

Keywords: The Closer the Better

Keywords within a title tag works like road signs, the closer to the actual site the sign points to, the more compelling it is.  Ditto with title tags.

Branding: If You’ve Got it Flaunt It!

How well does your site visitor know your brand?  If your brand is already a household name in your industry, go ahead and flaunt it before the title tag keyword.  If not, err on the side of caution by placing your keyword before the brand name.

Readability and Emotional Impact

What sets apart the great from the good?  As far as title tags are concerned, it’s all about impact and readability.   After all, it doesn’t make much sense to have a perfectly optimized page without anyone sticking long enough to read it.   The title tag is your visitor’s first interaction with your brand when they find it in a search result and should convey the most positive impression possible.

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