Title tags
The title tag or page title
Title tags are the most important tags on a webpage!
Writing good title tags is essential for getting good results in search engines.
The title tag isn't really a meta tag, but it does belong in the "head" part of the web page document, where meta tags are also placed.
What are title tags?
Title tags describe a web page.
~ they ought to contain a brief description of the contents of the web page using the keywords for that page.
They appear as text in the very top left corner of the web browser's window, often with the browser's name added as below:
"Keywords and keyword phrases - Windows Internet Explorer"
Page title in Internet Explorer's title bar
They need to make sense and include some of the keywords for the page.
They also appear as blue underlined text links in search engine results as shown below. Title tags are important because search engines usually use them in a search engine results page (SERPs) as the text links to that page.
Search engines also use them to help rank the relevance of a page to a particular search.
Page title or the title tag - the underlined blue text in search engine results
Title tags are not visible on the web page.
Headings and titles
Web page titles are not the same as headings.
Headings are used in the text of a page and are always visible on the page. Titles only appear at the top of the browser window in the title bar and in search engine results, as in the examples above.
Where to use the title tag
The title tag is placed in the "head" section of your web page:
<head>
<title>Keywords and keyword phrases</title>
<meta name="description" content="Everything you ever wanted to know about this page in 150 characters!" />
<meta name="keywords" content="key words,keyword,keywords,key phrases,keyword phrases" />
</head>
Why are title tags important?
Title tags are important because search engines place significant emphasis on them.
When you do a search on Google, Yahoo!, MSN or any other search engine, you tend to scan through the highlighted titles and the brief descriptions underneath to see which results seem most relevant to your search.
They are often the first piece of text that anyone sees of your website. In the example below, the title of the page is "Keywords and keyword phrases"
Page title and meta description tag
The page title (title-tag) and the page description (meta-description tag), which is also shown above in the search engine results, is like an advertisement for the page. They need to contain the keywords for the page and work together to entice a reader to click on the link.
Look at these examples: one uses the limited space available very effectively: whilst the second one uses more words but has little useful information.
Which one would you click on?
So you need to write page titles and page descriptions that accurately reflect the content of your page, without "stuffing" them with keywords that make no sense to the reader.
If you do not have access to the page coding, write your page title and ask your webmaster to add it to the page. These are then added to the "head" part of the code of your web page.
Title tags and bookmarks or favorites
Titles are also used as the words to describe your page when someone adds it to their "Favorites" or "Bookmarks" lists.
For example, if you added the above page to your "Bookmarks" in Firefox it will appear like this:
The title tag used in Firefox's Bookmarks
Or, if you added it to your "Favorites" in Internet Explorer, it will appear like this:
The title tag used in Internet Explorer's Favorites
Length of title tags
The number of characters shown by search engines, varies between search engines, and over time within each search engine.
As a rough guide limit your title to approximately 60 characters including spaces. Keep your main keywords near the beginning of your title.
You can write longer titles; they will be read by the search engines, but make sure that the important words are in the first 60 characters.
Use of page titles - summary
- They are usually the first thing a reader sees about the page, so they should be short and clear
- They are included in the title bar of every browser window
- They are included in bookmarks and favorites
- They provides a title for the page in search-engine results
- Search engines use them as the link for the page
Remember - to create effective page titles
- Do:
- make the title accurately reflect the content of the page
- use the keywords for that page near the beginning of the tag
- write a different page title for every page - take the time to get it right
- avoid repetition - use your keywords once, with a related term if possible
- keep them under approximately 60 characters including spaces so that the full title appears on the search engine results pages (SERPS), but this does depend on the page content
- if you use your business name, put it at the end
- keep it natural - you are writing for human beings as well as search engines!
- use the phrases from the title tag in the first paragraph of your content
Further reading
- Keywords and keyword phrases - quick tips
- Keywords and keyword phrases - how to choose them
- Keywords and keyword phrases - where to use them
- Meta tags - what are they?
- Meta description tag - essential reading for SERPs
- Meta keywords - what are they? Are they of any use?
- Web page headings
If you have more questions or you need more help or advice, please contact us and we will endeavour to help you ~ without any obligation.
