The most important thing you can do on-page for your SEO is to have great content that is likable and linkable. But don’t stop there. The next thing you must do is to give that content an optimized title tag.

Writing Title Tags for Better SEO

A title tag is an HTML element that tells search engines the title of a webpage.  The title tag for this post, for example, looks like this:

<title>Writing Title Tags for Better SEO | Iceberg Web Design</title>

But title tags do more than that. They appear on SERPS and in shared social media posts, so they had better be enticing because your potential readers will see them. A positive first impression could mean a click.

Limit the Length

You will also want to limit your title to 60 characters or less, to have the full title displayed. This is a general guideline since the actual limit is 600 pixels, and some letters are wider than others. For example, a “W” is wider than an “I.” If your title exceeds the 600-pixel limit, Google will truncate it at the nearest word-break before that.

To ensure your title fits into Google’s limit, you can use a preview tool like Portent’s SERP Preview Tool.

H1-Tags

While title tags show up on SERPs, H1-tags appear as the title on the page itself. Although they don’t have to be the same, it is standard to write them that way for clarity. That way, when readers click on something they have searched, the page that pops up is what they are expecting to see.

Using Keywords in Your Title Tags

It can help to use the keyword(s) you are ranking for in your title tag, but it is less important than it used to be. Still, because these elements are supposed to be telling people (and Google) what your page is about, and your keywords are supposed to be on-topic, having a keyword in your title tag often makes sense.

Search engines are intelligent. They understand variations of keywords, so you only need to include one version in your title tag if you wish. We are no longer in the old wild west days of SEO—no keyword stuffing in your page, post, or title tag. If Google decides that you’ve loaded your title tag with keywords, it may change how it is displayed on the SERP.

Homepage or E-Comm Sales Page Title Tags

You never want to have a homepage titled “Home.” Instead, SEO best practices (for now, because they are constantly changing) say that your title tag should be something like this:

{Keyword 1} {Keyword 2} | Brand/Company Name

Or for an e-commerce sales page

{Product Name} {Product Category} | Brand/ Company Name

You want to have the most important information first and keep it within the size limits mentioned above. Frontloading your tags with the most essential information also helps to grab the reader’s attention. Keep in mind this may be your location. 

It boils down to this: Play around with your titles until you come up with one that is catchy, descriptive, accurate, and fits into the size limit.

My Best Advice

Rather than worrying about title tags and all the other SEO components of your website, call the SEO experts at Iceberg Web Design. We create customized websites with built-in business solutions so you can do what you do best. Contact us today.