Part 1c - SEO: Optimizing Title Tags
Much has been written about the importance of the title tag (also referred to as title tags) for search engine visibility. But I'm going to revisit the topic, because there's one point I don't feel has been given sufficient coverage.
That point is the value of keyword-rich titles on older websites. More specifically, I'll talk about aligning your title tags with your key search phrases for maximum search engine visibility. But first, let's start with a definition of a title tag, just so we're on the same page.
What is a Title Tag
Search engines give a lot of consideration to HTML title elements (or "tags"). The title tag is found within the HTML code that makes up each of your web pages (or each of your blog posts). To see the title tag, just right-click on any web page and select "View Source." This will show you the HTML code that makes up the web page. The title tag will be near the top, between two tags labeled as 〈title〉 and 〈/title〉.
The title tag also shows up in the blue bar at the top of your web browser, up above the navigation buttons and the address bar. When your website shows up on a search engine results page, the title will also be prominent above the listing.
Your title tags should be (A) based on your key search phrases, (B) designed to pull in readers like a headline, and (C) relevant to the actual content of the page. Use a different title tag for each page of your website, as this will give you search engine coverage for a broader range of key phrases (less redundancy).
Keywords + Titles + Older Website = SEO Wonderland
Whenever I encounter an older website with poor use of titles tags — or no titles at all — I start to get excited. (By the way, in Internet years an "older" website is three years or older.) I get excited because I realize the potential gains that can be made with very little effort, simply by optimizing the title tags with key phrases relevant to the page copy. Remember what I said about small details making a big difference with search engine visibility and website traffic? This is another prime example!
Search engines often favor older websites when determining rank. This is especially true of Google. The big 'G' loves older websites, and if those websites are properly built — with descriptive, keyword-rich title tags and plenty of relevant content — Google will usually reward them with excellent ranking and visibility.
That's why I get excited when I see client websites with weak or absent title tags across their websites. I know it's an opportunity for big gains with minimal effort.
Case Study: Fixing Titles on an Older Website
"Oh no," you say. "Not another case study!"
Don't despair, dear reader. You'll learn a lot from this case study. I've peppered the book with these little anecdotes because they reinforce the book's lessons with real-life stories involving yours truly. If you learn from my successes and failures, you'll be a much smarter Internet marketer in the end. I promise you that.
So, on with the case study!
I once worked on a website that was nearly ten years old, with an abundance of quality links coming in from other websites. The website's owner complained that people weren't finding his website through search engines for certain phrases. He sold mountain cabins and rented them out as well, so there was both a real estate sales and rental side to his business. He was doing well in the search engines for the real estate sales types of phrases, but he was off the radar for the rental types phrases.
Without even investigating the website, I had an immediate hunch this was yet another keywords-in-title-tag scenario, or a lack thereof.
First, I validated the regional "cabin rental" phrases he had in mind. Yep, they were getting plenty of search volume, so they were worth our attention. And the competition level was reasonable, considering his was an older website with plenty of relevant inbound links.
Next, I moved on to the website itself. It only took about five minutes to find the problem. The title tags on his rental pages were too generic. They mostly consisted of non-specific phrases like "Availability" ... "Rentals" ... "Calendar" and the like.
The first thing I did was to modify those title tags to help people and search engines alike. The title "Rentals" became "Blue Ridge Mountain Cabin Rentals" and so on. In fact, this was the only change I made at first, because I wanted to judge its effectiveness in the absence of other modifications.
Long story short, after I had adjusted 125 title tags on just as many web pages, his rankings began to rise considerably and within a relatively short time. Where he was on Page 7 for a particular rental phrase before, he was now on Page 1. Predictably, his search-driven traffic for these phrases more than doubled.
An older website without keyword-rich title tags is like a Ferrari running on half its cylinders. There's a lot of potential there, but it won't be realized without all the parts in place.
How to Write Effective Title tags
Surely you didn't think I was going to stress the importance of title tags without showing you how to write them?
Here's the secret to writing effective title tags for your web pages. Be sure to include your key phrase at the beginning of your title. If you put it at the end of the title, it will greatly reduce your search engine visibility for that phrase.
For example, let's imagine that I'm a pool builder in Austin, Texas. I've done my key phrase research because I know how important it is, and I've discovered that "Austin pool builders" is one of my top phrases. It meets all the criteria of a key search phrase — people are searching it on a regular basis, it's relevant to my business, and I can write about it! So I add the phrase to my list of key phrases, and then I decide to write a new web page around it (or maybe several pages).
The first page I create is an article about what homeowners should consider when choosing a pool builder in Austin, Texas.
The first title that comes to mind might be: "Top 5 Qualities to Consider in an Austin Pool Builder." That's a fine title, but if I'm going to make it the title tag of my page (between the 〈title〉 tags within the page's HTML coding), I should move the key phrase toward the front. Here's an easy way to do that: "Austin Pool Builders - 5 Key Qualities to Consider."
imply by moving the key phrase to the beginning, I have dramatically improved my chances for ranking well in search engines for the phrase "Austin pool builder."
Unless your company name is well known with strong branding, it's best to put it at the end of the title tag. Also keep in mind that most web browsers will cut the title off after about 10 words, so keep your titles brief.
And while we are talking about optimizing parts of your web page, let's cover the concept of optimized hyperlinks as well.
SEO Continued >> Optimizing Hyperlinks