So you're trying to get your website found online and you've decided to work in your own SEO (search engine optimization). You've already taken the first few steps and have created some very pleasing pages full of original and useful content. You've also used the multitude of online tools and have created a keyword list, your blue print for site modifications and link building. So now it's time to look at your title tags. What are Title tags?
Every page online has a Title tag. This is a piece of HTML code that is not visible on the webpage itself. In Internet Explorer, you can see what the Title tag is by viewing that blue banner all the way at the top of the page.
The Title tag is also the most useful piece of code on the page for search engines. Many of the engines place alot of weight on this code when calculating their algorithm for search engine results. Don't squander your Title tag.
There are two typical mistakes when builders create websites:
1. The same tag is used on every page - You see this many times online. A company creates their site and then adds the company name in the Title tag on every page.
2. The page name is used for the Title - It is so often the case that a home page for a website uses the Title tag of 'Home', or the contact page uses the tag of 'contact'.
These are huge mistakes when trying to optimize your sites and the site owners are missing out on search engine rankings. Look at your pages and your keyword list and decide what the overall theme of that page is. That should be the starting point for your Title.
Here are a few guidelines when creating the tag:
- Customize your tags to each page of content.
- Keep the number of words in your Title tag anywhere from two to nine at the most.
- The Title tag should be no more than 90 characters
Don't take your Title tag for granted. It is the most important part of the site (besides good content) in the eyes of the search engines. Take your time and make them right.
