Before we tell you how to write a good title tag, what is a title tag? The title tag is an HTML code tag that allows you to give a web page a title. This title can be found in the browser title bar, as well as in the search engine results pages (SERP).
Ok, so now that we know what a title tag is, creating a good one isn’t all that difficult. All you need to do is keep the title tag between 55 and 60 characters, put your target keyword first, accurately describe your page, mention your brand, and keep it unique.
Use Between 55 and 60 Characters
So, technically this isn’t true, but let me explain. Google cuts off your title tag once you hit a width of 589 pixels. But unless you’re one of the most useless X-Men with the power to count pixels, counting characters is much easier.
Search engines only show a limited number of characters of the title tag. Google shows the first 580 pixels. After that, it simply adds an ellipsis (…). If you want your title tags to look professional, try to keep your title tags between 55 and 60 characters.
Put Your Target Keyword First
You’re going to want to do this for two big reasons. The first of which is that Google reportedly placed more value on the first words of your title tag rather than the later words. The second reason is to provide a better user experience.
Just think of when you search for something on Google, you’re a busy person with lots of busy things going on in your busy day. You don’t have time to read through an entire title tag before going on to the next one.
But in all seriousness, no one wants to waste their time looking through the SERPs to find the right page. That’s why having your target keyword is so important.
Accurately Describe Your Page
You’ve put your primary keyword first, but you need to make sure that keyword accurately describes your page. This means you’ll want to know the intent of your page.
Are you looking to sell? Are you looking to inform? This will change how your title tag is presented.
Let’s say that your primary keyword is something like “facelifts”. If you’re looking to take someone to a service page, your updated keyword might be “Facelifts in Miami, FL”. If you’re looking to inform about facelifts, your new keyword could be “who is a good candidate for facelifts”.
These new keywords work great for what the page is trying to do but would be horrible if the keywords were flipped.
Mention Your Brand Name
We advise most companies to put their brand name last. Only on your homepage should your brand name be first. If you’re an absolute top brand that the majority of people know and trust, it can be interesting to start your title tags with your brand name.
This isn’t so much important for ranking purposes on Google or any other search engine, but it is always good to keep your brand in peoples’ minds when they are searching.
Make Each Title Tag Unique
Each page of your website should have a unique title tag. If you can’t decide what a page is really about, how is Google supposed to know?
Depending on your business, this could be an extremely simple or difficult task. If you have a website that has around 100 or fewer pages, it should be simple to make unique title tags for every page. If you sell products like clothing, it will be much more difficult, but at that point, you should have some automation in place to create them for you.
And there you have it: how to write a good title tag in just 5 steps. If you need help getting your title tags or other SEO tasks done, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for a free consultation.