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Originally Posted On: https://neurdesigns.com/resources/what-is-a-website-title/
Did you know that, according to Ahrefs, creating a click-worthy website title is one of the top ways to improve your click-through rate? Another top tip is to match your H1 tag to your title tag. These are all great tips, but if you’re not sure what a website title is then they won’t mean much!
While the title of a website might seem obvious, there are ways that you can play with this HTML tag in order to improve your search engine rankings and increase the likelihood that potential customers will click on your page.
Here’s what you need to know about the importance of a well-optimized website title and a few tips on how to create killer titles that help improve your SEO rankings and increase click-through rates.
Why Your Website Title Matters
A website title is the HTML tag that specifies the title of a web page. The title is displayed in the browser’s title bar and used by search engines to determine the relevant keywords for a particular page.
The title of your home page is particularly important because it’s often the first thing people see when they find your site via a search engine like Google. You want to make sure it accurately reflects what your site is about so that people will click through to it.
Beyond that, you also want to make sure your title is catchy and memorable so that people will remember your site and come back to it again in the future.
Your title is one more opportunity to reinforce your brand and help people identify your business. So, keep these tips in mind as you brainstorm possibilities for your own website’s title. And don’t be afraid to experiment until you find the perfect fit for your business.
Why Does Your Website Title Matter?
A good website title should be descriptive and concise, and should accurately reflect the content of the page. Including keywords in the title can also be helpful for SEO purposes. Here’s why all of that matters.
Search Engine Optimization
One of the many factors that search engines like Google use to rank websites is the website title. The website title is the text that appears on the search engine results page (SERP) as the clickable link to your website.
A website title that is well-written and includes relevant keywords can therefore help improve your website’s SEO. This is why it’s so important to ensure it’s descriptive and accurately reflects the content on your website.
Think about the way that you look for websites in search engines. Let’s say you Google “SEO tips for bakeries.” The first title that comes up is “7 Easy to Implement SEO Tips for Bakeries,” and it’s accompanied by a great meta description. You’re likely to click right?
When it comes down to it, including relevant keywords in your website title can help improve your website’s ranking for those keywords. However, you should avoid keyword stuffing, which is the act of filling your website title with so many keywords that it becomes difficult to read.
In addition, your website title should be unique and different from the titles of other websites.
Your website’s title is just one of many factors that can impact your SEO, but it is an important one.
Click-Through Rate
As long as you’re clear and concise with your website title tag, it can potentially increase your click-through rate (if you’re not too sure how to create a website title that is clear and concise then just sit tight; we’ll get to that in a bit!).
A great web page title should be descriptive enough to give users an idea of what the website is about, but not so long that it becomes cumbersome. As mentioned above, the title should also be keyword-rich, so that it appears prominently in search engine results.
While we’ll explore some website title writing tips below, while we’re on the subject of improving click-through rate, it’s important to ensure your title is unique and memorable. Take a look at the current web page titles that rank on the first page of Google for your target keyword.
What do they have in common? How can you create a title that stands out from the rest? If most other titles feature “top 10” lists then create a list that offers the “top 21+ tips” to differentiate yourself from the competition.
Relevancy
Relevancy is one of many factors that can impact your SEO rankings. The more relevant your site is to a given search query, the more likely it is that your site will rank higher for that query.
Relevancy is determined by a number of factors, including the content on your site, the structure of your site, the keywords you use, and yep, you guessed it, your website title.
Website titles inform search engines as to the relevancy of your website content in relation to the inputted keyword. A target keyword in the title tag allows search engine bots to pair the information on your site with the information a visitor is searching for.
So, while it might seem super simple, optimizing your website title can directly improve your SEO efforts.
Common Website Title Mistakes
Alright, now let’s dive into the ins and outs of how to create a website title that converts.
While SEO is an ever-changing area of digital marketing and there’s no set list of factors that search engines use to weigh websites in order to rank them, there are some factors that undoubtedly affect your website rankings.
Here’s where most people get it wrong and how you can avoid these same mistakes.
Not Having a Tittle
First and foremost, the biggest mistake that most website owners make is not even having a website title!
This makes it harder for people to find your pages when searching for keywords related to your business. Even if you’ve worked hard to optimize your web copy and all of your blogs, if you’re not including the right title tags then you’re missing out on a lot of great SEO opportunities.
It also makes it difficult for search engines to find and index your website in the first place. When you engage in SEO practices, your goal is to make it as easy as possible for search engines to find your page, scan its contents, and have no problem ranking it at the top.
Having a Website Title That’s Too Short or Long
If your title is too long, that’s called title truncation. In the case of truncation, it makes your website or webpage look unprofessional because it gets cut off in search engine results.
How long should your title be then?
Google is able to display titles between 50 to 60 characters. However, if you want to be more exact, you can use a title tag checker from Moz or another top SEO source. We recommend Googling “Google SERP snippet optimization tool” and finding a relevant title tool to use.
Keyword Stuffing
Search engines don’t like spammy content. So, avoid stuffing your title (and any other content you create, honestly) with keywords in a way that isn’t natural and organic. What does keyword stuffing look like?
The text may appear to be one long string of keywords, or the keywords may be randomly dispersed throughout the title text. This could look like “Best Bakery in Chicago Top Bakery Chicago Bakery” or something similar.
In any case, keyword stuffing makes it difficult for readers to understand what the page is about, and it can negatively impact search engine rankings. It’s best to avoid this as much as possible.
Instead, direct your focus, time, and effort toward search intent. Find keywords that are highly relevant to exactly what your target audience is looking for. Use those organically in each website HTML tag to further target audiences at the right phase of the buyer’s journey.
This is going to get you a lot further than stuffing lots of keywords into each title.
Keyword Cannibalization
Cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on a website compete for the same keyword.
For example, if you have a page about tennis shoes and another page about running shoes, both pages might be bidding on the keyword “athletic shoes.”
As a result, the search engine may get confused about which page to rank for that keyword, and both pages may suffer in the rankings. In extreme cases, cannibalization can even lead to one of the pages ranking at the expense of the other.
That’s why it’s important to carefully choose your keywords and make sure that each page on your site is targeting a different keyword. The same goes for website titles.
Try to choose a target keyword for each page that’s different from other pages. Then, work that into the title naturally.
If you’re not sure whether you’re suffering from keyword cannibalization, you can use a tool like Google Search Console to check which keywords your pages are ranking for.
If you see that multiple pages are ranking for the same keyword, you may need to adjust your keyword strategy.
Using the Brand Name as the Website Title
Okay, so it’s important to mention that there’s nothing wrong with including your brand name in your website title tags here and there. In fact, if you’re a well-known brand then including your brand name can help increase click-through rates due to established brand trust.
That’s not the mistake we’re talking about. What we’re talking about is only including the brand name as the website title. Furthermore, it’s an especially big no-no when you do that for every page.
Each page should have a unique title. If you have space at the end, add your brand name if it makes sense!
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How to Create a Website Title That Converts
Now that you know what not to do, it’s finally time to put your newly acquired knowledge to the test. If you’re ready to sit down and try your hand at writing a few website titles then here are two top tips that can help ensure you’re crafting titles that convert.
Use Target Keywords
There are a lot of ways to go about finding the right target keyword for each page (this is why we ultimately recommend working with a qualified SEO agency). However, the target keywords you choose will depend on what you’re trying to achieve with your page.
If you’re trying to rank for a particular keyword, then you should include that keyword in your title tag. If you’re trying to attract a certain kind of audience, then you should choose target keywords that reflect that audience.
Either way, choosing the right target keyword for each HTML title is essential for achieving success with your page. Remember to consider search intent regardless.
Describe the Page Properly
By describing your webpage properly you’re able to give searchers a glimpse into what they’ll get if they click. Think of it as a mini advertisement or sales pitch.
Entice them with the benefits of what they’ll gain access to if they click. However, ensure you’re being honest about what’s on the page.
If you’re still stuck on how to describe the page properly with so few works then try to use words like what, why, where, and how. Or at least use these words to help you think of some ideas.
- What does your page talk about?
- Why should readers click on this page?
- How are you offering something of value?
- Where can users expect to go once they click?
Ultimately, your goal should be to help potential readers understand exactly what they’re going to get once they click on your page. This will help decrease bounce rates once people click and increase the amount of time they spend on the page. Both of those factors are great for SEO.
Work With a Chicago SEO Agency
A website title is one of many elements that go into crafting a great SEO strategy. Other factors include creating optimized content, link building, and even improving the design of your website.
Instead of trying to figure this all out yourself, we suggest working with a qualified team of SEO experts. At Neur, this is exactly what we can offer you.
Get in touch today for a free SEO audit or to chat about how we can help you improve your website rankings.
