Nothing could be simpler than the title you give to your web pages right? Unfortunately, the vast majority of the websites I visit these days have absolutely terrible titles that hurt their online business. The title of your website is a very important part of getting good rankings on most of the major search engines. A good title also goes a long way towards getting your prospects to click on your listings.
If you go to Google right now, and type any search phrase you want, you get back a listing of web sites that match the keywords you entered in. If you look closely, you'll notice that each search listing' hyperlink is also the title of that website. The title you choose needs to describe to your prospects what your website is all about. It needs to be able to entice your prospects to click on your listing over any other listing. If your title is simply your company name, you are most likely loosing lots of traffic. You will also find it difficult to rank highly on relevant keywords to your site.
Here are some things to consider:
1. Make sure you use relevant keywords
Keywords are simply search terms that your web site prospects will type into a search engine in order to find you. The keywords you are targeting need to be included in your title. Your keywords also need to be as close to the beginning of the title as it makes sense to do. For example, if you were selling shoes online and you were targeting the keyword "children shoes", you could have a title like "Children's shoes for hard to fit children." Notice how the targeted keywords were at the beginning of the title. Putting your keywords at the front of your title speaks to keyword prominence. Prominence refers to the importance of your keyword in the title. If your main keywords are at the very beginning of the title, it is said to have a prominence of 100%. If they are at the very end of the title, they have a prominence of 0%. As much as possible, you want to have your main keywords appear towards the beginning of your title.
2. Consider using your main keyword twice in your title
If you are optimizing your site to rank well on Google, you should also consider finding a way to include your main keyword twice in the title. The trick is to do this without making the title sound stupid. One way I do this is to use the pipe character | between your main keywords. For example, if I was writing a title for a fishing website and the main keyword I was targeting was 'fishing charter' I could repeat the keywords this way, "Fishing Charter | Are you ready for a fishing charter you won't soon forget?" This example gets my target keyword at the beginning and manages to repeat it again without making it look stupid.
3. Persuade your prospect to click on your link
The link that your prospects will see when they do a search of your website on a search engine will almost always be the title of your website. Even if you get to the first page on a search engine for the keywords you are targeting, you still need to persuade your prospect to click on your link over all the others around you. If you title is not persuasive, or even non-existent, you won't get the traffic you expect even if you are number one in the listings. Your title must be persuasive.
4. Say what you want in 65 characters or less.
Almost all search engines limit the length of the title that will appear to the search engine surfer. Google for instance, only displays the first 60 to 66 characters. Sometimes, a webmaster will try to include every one of their keywords in the title in the hope that all of their keywords will be picked up by the search engines. Keep your main keyword prominent in the first 65 characters of your title. Do this while making sure that your title is properly targeted to your target market. You can include your secondary keywords in the body of your web page, but keep them out of the title unless it makes sense to keep them in. The rule of thumb for including secondary keywords in your title is to include them only if you can still keep the title persuasive to your website prospects.
Your website title is crucial to your success online.
Your title is vital to your efforts of getting traffic online. Make sure it is descriptive, and persuasive. It needs to include your main keywords as close to the start of your title as it makes sense to do. You need to avoid repeating the same keywords over and over again. This may work for keywords that have little or no competition on them, but it won't work for any keyword that gets even a decent amount of traffic on them.
This article was written by Joe Duchesne, president of http://www.yowling.com/, a budget web hosting company that specializes in helping online business owners increase their website traffic. Copyright 2004 Yowling. Reprint Freely.
It's a marketing dream come true: A potential customer, looking... Read More
I've always been a big time press release aficionado.And up... Read More
We know that each and every website page is assigned... Read More
Search engine optimization (SEO) is very important to websites. If... Read More
As the economy begins to recover in certain parts of... Read More
Sometimes a search engine optimization company will miss that glaring... Read More
The attraction of Pay Per Click (PPC) online advertising is... Read More
Search engines will be a way for you to generate... Read More
Search engine optimization is one of most popular online marketing... Read More
In recent times, I have been closely studying keywords that... Read More
Everyday, the Search Engines average 300 MILLION searches. In a... Read More
When it comes to promoting your website, you might think... Read More
Listed here you will find the five of the most... Read More
What we are hunting for?Unique Domains,One Way Links,Text Link copy... Read More
Keywords aren't just some words that allow search engines, like... Read More
Search Engine Optimization popularly known as SEO.SEO is the process... Read More
For beginners, link exchange campaigns can be a minefield of... Read More
Getting indexed in Yahoo has become very difficult in the... Read More
Google now checks the year your domain name was first... Read More
If you're serious about SEO, you need to know how... Read More
While search engine advertising has been a great advertising medium... Read More
With the ever evolving internet market for just about anything... Read More
Last week a client called me excitedly exclaiming that their... Read More
The complexities of Google's PR (Page Ranking) System have grown... Read More
Most new sites submitted to Google (at least within the... Read More
Links are a crucial part of attaining high search rankings,... Read More
In Google's recent battle towards becoming an international news center,... Read More
One of my favorite subjects to teach on at our... Read More
As with any good web developer, the ability to time... Read More
Ever wondered how one search engine is dominating the entire... Read More
If you've been feeling like Tom Cruise climbing up the... Read More
I'm literally inundated with questions on the subject of invisible... Read More
Use text links, avoid image links. Anyhow, if you... Read More
With all the recent publicity given to Google as the... Read More
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become one of the biggest... Read More
Every once in a while--and probably more often than we... Read More
Google Labs is currently testing Google Print, which returns results... Read More
Between 75% and 98.8% of visitors to Web sites come... Read More
One of the post from My SEO world Meet Up... Read More
SEO companies come in all shapes and sizes. You've got... Read More
... and why I 'm dying to get finally in... Read More
For websites, one of the most important things in their... Read More
Before we explore the world of search engine optimization, it... Read More
Let's say you are writing a web site to sell... Read More
If you're reading this article, you've probably discovered that simply... Read More
When it comes to search engine optimization there is a... Read More
As a search engine optimization specialist, I often run across... Read More
With the help of MSN, recently I've been reminiscing about... Read More
If you're like most other CEOs, the term "search engine... Read More
Anyone involved in an Internet-based home business will soon come... Read More
Targeted traffic is the lifeblood of any online business. The... Read More
The following are a list of mistakes can ensure that... Read More
In a recent report for a new client, I wrote:... Read More
A higher search ranking is what many website owners dream... Read More
There are those that get on the computer one night... Read More
Increase Your Google Page Rank!Page Rank. We all know what... Read More
"Nothing last forever but the Earth and sky." - from... Read More
Anyone would agree that it is much easier to be... Read More
Regardless of which type of business you currently have, you... Read More
Shopping and the Web. They go together like Mr. and... Read More
Every webmaster knows that the free search engines are a... Read More
For beginners, link exchange campaigns can be a minefield of... Read More
Quite often I get asked what the magic solution is... Read More
I have seen my site hit #3 at Google, and... Read More
Today if you want your site to survive in the... Read More
Search engines love content. Graphics may make your site look... Read More
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |