Do you know that the Title tag you choose can make a difference in your positioning and in the ability to attract your users?
Yes, the Title SEO or Title tag is an apparently basic element, but in reality it is essential in your positioning strategy.
Since Google tends to use the content of meta tags to generate the snippets, snippets can have a direct impact on the user’s decision to click on your website.
Google has recently changed its operations and now it will not be based solely on the Title tag , but will focus more on the HTML tags of the site, especially the H1 tag, among others.
Above all, it will apply “this rule” when the Title tag exceeds characters, is overoptimized for keywords or does not provide information that it considers relevant.
That’s not to say you have to ignore the SEO title . On the contrary, Google will continue to positively assess the treatment of this meta tag.
So let’s see what the Title tag is, why it is important and how to optimize it.
What is the SEO title or title tag ?
The title tag is a tag that summarizes the main idea of a web page and is displayed in the SERP, on social networks, as well as in browser tabs.
These are often referred to as meta titles or title tags, and they always go inside the <head> element of a page’s HTML code.
The title lets search engine bots know what your page is about and helps them understand whether or not it is relevant to the user’s query.
Where do you see the title tag or seo title?
The title tag appears at different times of navigation:
1. In the SERPs
Users can see the page title directly on the SERP in the title snippet.
2. On social networks
Another place the headline can be found is on social media when you make a post and it links back to the original web page .
The title you provide in the article will be included in the social media post by default.
If you want to display another title on social media, you can change it through the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress.
3. In the browser tabs
The third and final place where you can find the title tag is the text you see in browser tabs. Even if you have multiple tabs open, you will still be able to see the beginning of the title tag .
As you can see, the title tag appears as the title of a web page in search engines and on social networks, and as users, we tend to look at it before clicking to understand whether or not the page responds to our search intent.
For this reason, it is crucial that you know what to write in the title tag to attract the most organic traffic to your pages.
Difference between the title tag and the H1 tag of a page
The title tag <title> appears in the aforementioned places. They have a limited number of characters (maximum 60 characters or 512 pixels) and must condense the content of the article in a few words.
The H1 tag or title of the page or post appears when entering the URL and goes between the <body> and </body> tags. We could say that this headline is more friendly or commercial, and also a little longer.
Let’s see it with an example. We search: “how to rank in google sheets”.
Look at the title tag that appears in the SERP.
However, if we go into the article, H1 is different, more extensive and closer.
Both the Title and the H1 are important and must appear on all the pages of your website and be different from one another.
The Title has to convince the user to enter and the H1 be persuasive enough to stay.
How to write the perfect title or title tag for a website?
1. Each page must have a unique title tag
If several of the pages on your website have the same Title tag, both search engines (which will consider it duplicate content ) and people will be confused.
Think about it: if you write the same title tag on several of your web pages covering different topics, they could all be related to the same topic, but answer different questions, people won’t be able to tell them apart and decide which one is relevant to their search intent .
In these cases, Google will show a different title in the SERP extracting a fragment of the text of the content that it understands best response to the intention. But the text that the search giant, or any other search engine, extracts of its own accord can be unattractive to the user, with the risk of being discarded.
2. It must accurately describe the content of the page
If you have a web page that talks about a restaurant that delivers food in New York, don’t write something like “How to bake a cake at home” in the title tag.
The title tag must reveal the main topic of the page.
Remember that search engines serve to provide people with content relevant to their search intent.
As a general rule, write with people in mind because they are the ones you have to captivate through the title.
3. Write titles under 60 characters
Search engines limit long titles to a maximum of 60 characters, that adds up to 512 pixels to the width of the title in the SERP. That’s why it’s best to keep this limit in mind when creating your title. Otherwise, users may see an incomplete title
Therefore, if you want to do it well, create short titles for your pages, but without losing sight of the available length in your favor.
4. Put the main keyword at the beginning and the brand name at the end
According to Backlinko’s Brian Dean, the closer the keyword is to the beginning of the title tag, the more weight it will carry in search engines .
By the way, many CMS automatically generate titles based on templates, like “page title” + brand name, which is very useful for websites with multiple pages.
5. If your price or quality is a competitive advantage, add it to the title
In the event that you create a title for a page with a commercial intention , such as Gifts under €20 or free deliveries in Madrid, it is advisable to add this information to the title of the page to stand out in the SERP and get more people to do so. Click on your offer.
6. When working with large websites, create templates
If you manage an online store, you can automatically add the name of the products and their distinctive characteristics such as color, model, etc. to page titles. But here it is important to note that Google recommends writing informative and descriptive titles and avoiding the use of terms that do not add any real value .
It is also very important that the templates display real and accurate content, as in the information that can be found on the page.
For example, page titles like:
Dill: benefits, harm, how to prepare, grow at home, seeds
Milk: benefits, harm, how to do it, grow at home, seeds…
They are a great example of what not to use in title templates for two pages that provide totally opposite information.
That said, sometimes search engines may not use your page title in the snippet.
Reasons why Google does not use your title tag
Let’s see what are the reasons why this can happen:
1. Your title doesn’t answer the search query
For example, when users make a query with low search volume, the search engine may decide to select another piece of text on the page that more closely matches its intent .
2. Search engine bots couldn’t crawl your page
And they were forced to use the information provided by the anchor text of the backlinks that link to your page.
3. The title tag of the page is full of keywords
This can be positive or negative, it depends on each particular situation. The main thing to keep in mind here is that search engines will always display a title tag that is more useful to users.
When we know the user’s query, we can often find alternative text for a page that better explains why that result is relevant. Using this alt text as a title helps the user, and it can help your site too.
In any case, your mission is to implement these recommendations and try to make your title tag the most interesting and useful for potential visitors.
How to add and verify the Title tags of your website?
Many CMS do not give you the option to add meta tags through the admin panel . For this reason, you must install special plugins, such as Yoast SEO for WordPress and Easy Frontend SEO for Joomla.
If your CMS doesn’t give you the ability to add meta tags by default, or if for some reason you can’t install the required plugin, you can open the PHP file of the page you need via an FTP manager and add metadata.
There are many websites have problems with the Title tag
Last year, we analyzed 50,000 sites to find out what issues are hindering your promotional efforts, and here’s what we found. 54% had duplicate titles.
So, if you doubt whether your website titles are in order, double-check all your pages with the help of the Web Audit tool developed by SE Ranking :
- In just a few minutes, you’ll be able to scan all the pages on your site, including subdomains, checking your meta tags in the process.
- In the Meta-Analysis section of the tool’s report, you will find the pages that have no meta tags and those that are duplicates.
- Additionally, the tool also highlights meta tags that are too short and too long. Next to each error, you will find a list of all the web pages where the error was found.
- In the Web Audit settings, you can manually set the optimal length for your page’s title and description tags.
- Plus, you have the freedom to schedule automatic checks and receive regular reports straight to your inbox. That way, you’ll be able to stay on top of your site’s meta tags, including a lot more.
conclusion
If you are serious about your SEO rank, you must keep in mind that each page must have its own unique Title tag and that it be concise and relevant.
This is not optional, but mandatory!
Now you know that it is an On Page SEO factor that can positively boost your organic traffic.
If you have had success trying other tips and suggestions when setting up your Title tag, please share your experience with us.