How to write the perfect title tag for SEO

Writing quality page titles and SEO titles is an essential skill for anyone doing SEO. Why? Because the title tag can be the first thing a user sees in search results, and is also one of the most important factors Google uses to determine the topic of a page. Well-written headlines are essential for SEO

What are SEO title tags?

The title tag is an HTML element that is used to indicate the title of a web page. Its main job is to tell visitors and search engines what to expect when visiting a web page (as briefly as possible). What makes them special is that title tags usually appear in search results and when the page/post is shared on social media.

It is important that the title tag encourages the user to click on the link to your post from the search results (or wherever it appears).

When you can choose the right title tags, you will improve your click-through rate (CTR). And a high CTR can help with higher rankings. Among Google’s 200 ranking factors, one of them is CTR. A search engine will improve a page’s ranking for a specific keyword if it receives more clicks in the SERPs.

Here are some more reasons why title tags are important:

First impression: Your title is usually the first thing potential visitors see when they search for something. This is your chance to make a good impression;

Brand presentation: People trust brands. If you are well known in your industry, make sure your brand is clearly visible in the headline. Again, this will encourage clicks, which will get you more traffic.

And don’t forget that Google (and other search engines) also look at your title tag to understand what the page is about.

What is the difference between Title and H1 tags?

These are completely different HTML tags. The confusion comes from the fact that Title and H1 often look the same.

This is a simple practice for most sites as it is simpler and clearer. If users navigate from the SERPs by clicking on a specific title, they are likely expecting the same (or similar) title on the page.

In short, the title tag is what you see in search results and when you share content on almost any platform. The H1 tag is the “heading” you see on the page. Don’t confuse this with the title in a browser tab – this is the title tag.

So now you understand what a title tag is and how important it is.

How to Create SEO Titles for Featured Pages

To make the best use of the space you have for title tags, follow a few guidelines.

• Create unique headings for each page. Every page on your site is unique, and your title tags should reflect that. Make sure you set up title tags on every page of your website so that they accurately describe what’s on it.
  You want your title tag to signal to search engines what the individual page is about. Additionally, having a clear and precise title will be helpful to everyone who sees the page in search listings.
• Pay attention to the length of the title. Google and other search engines will display 50-60 characters of a title tag in search results before cutting it off, so you should generally aim for title tags that are around 50 characters or less in length.
  To be confident in your results, you should aim to have the most important or descriptive words in your keyword phrase at the beginning, and they are less likely to be cut off.
  If you want to include your brand name in each title tag (which can be a good idea for recognizable brands), place it at the end after words describing the content of the specific page.

• • Use a keyword (but don’t overuse it).

  Every page on your site should answer questions or provide valuable information that someone will look for. Your website will be more useful to people if it appears in searches at the right time – right when they are looking for the information you provide. Therefore, for each page you should have a target keyword (or several) in mind.
  Since Google’s algorithm uses the title tag as one of the primary ways to determine what a page is about, this is a good opportunity for you to include the keyword or keywords you are targeting on that page. This lets Google know that this page is relevant to anyone searching for that specific term. Just make sure you don’t fall for the keywords.

  • Describe the content of the page.

  When your website page appears in search results, many will decide whether to click on it based on your SEO headline thesis. If they click and are taken to a web page that doesn’t meet their expectations based on the title, they will likely immediately click the back button and try to find another result.
  You want your title tag to accurately describe what people will see when they decide to visit the web page. When people’s expectations match what they see on the page, it means lower website bounce rates and longer time spent on the site, metrics that signal to Google that your page is valuable and should maintain a high ranking.
  More importantly, it creates a better experience for your visitors. You want every visitor to like what they saw and hopefully come back. If your title tag isn’t clear, this is unlikely to happen.

  • Make a (compressed) argument to place on the page.

  You don’t have a lot of space for this, but use what you have to highlight what makes your web page unique. This can usually be done by adding an adjective before the descriptive keyword or an additional description after it. For blog posts and articles, a good Title tag is often very similar to a good title, so you can use a title you’ve already written.
  Make sure you really think about what is most valuable and important to your target audience on the page. Your title tag should highlight the value of your page to them.

  Why is Google rewriting title tags?

  Google has a practice of sometimes rewriting title tags. This can be frustrating, especially when you’ve spent a lot of time and effort putting together “optimized” labels. The search engine does this for certain reasons:

  • Google thinks you have a bad title tag
  • Google thinks there is a better title tag for a specific query.
  • To determine the topic, Google looks at the anchor texts of incoming links.

  Once you create a Title tag that clearly defines the page’s content, conveys the features visitors want, and entices them to click, Google won’t need to change it.

  Title tags are not very complex. It just takes a little time and effort to write them correctly.

  However, they will never be 100% perfect. Therefore, you should strive to constantly test and improve them.

Oleksandr Romanenko

Team Lead/Senior SEO specialist

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