New to SEO: Title Tag Optimisation

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by rkearns83, Feb 13, 2014.

  1. #1
    Hi,
    Currently I have been working on a websites title tags and meta descriptions. I am relatively new to this game as a recent college graduate. We outsourced some of the work to an American marketing company and I just wanted to compare our current title tags with the new ones this company gave to us.
    The keywords I am trying to rank well for are Bosch Dryers, Hotpoint Dryers, Miele Dryers and Indesit Dryers which is pretty obvious from the title tag itself.

    Our original title tag is :
    Tumble Dryers | Bosch, Hotpoint, Miele & Indesit Dryers | Soundstore
    (68 characters long)

    New title tag from marketing company is:
    Home Dryers: Tumble Dryers | Bosch, Hotpoint, Miele & Indesit Dryer Brands | Soundstore in Ireland
    (98 characters long)

    I have one other example where we are trying to rank well for the keywords Sony, Bose & Samsung Docking Stations.

    Our original title tag is:
    Docking stations | Sony, Bose & Samsung Docking Stations | Soundstore
    (69 characters long)

    New title tag from marketing company:
    Docking Station Products: Sony, Bose & Samsung Docking Brands | Soundstore in Ireland
    (86 characters long)


    Which title tags do you think are better or more optimised? I would love to know the opinions of SEO experts as i am relatively inexperienced. My gut feeling says our original title tags are fine and well optimised.
     
    rkearns83, Feb 13, 2014 IP
  2. HighTechOcean

    HighTechOcean Well-Known Member

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    #2
    I think you title should not be more than 70 characters.

    Title should be 60-70 characters.
     
    HighTechOcean, Feb 13, 2014 IP
  3. rkearns83

    rkearns83 Peon

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    #3
    Thanks for your replay HighTechOcean. I agree with what your saying. Should always aim for a title tag around 70 characters if possible . Im confused as to why the 100 new title tags the marketing company gave me well exceeded that guideline to around 100 characters per title tag on average. The above are just two examples from these 100 new tags they sent me.
     
    rkearns83, Feb 13, 2014 IP
  4. webdev007

    webdev007 Active Member

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    #4
    For Google the title tag limit is ~66 characters after which it will get truncated in search results. The limit could be more for other search engines. So keep you main focused keywords in the first 66 character limit.
     
    webdev007, Feb 13, 2014 IP
  5. ryan_uk

    ryan_uk Illustrious Member

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    #5
    They are both awful, just like they were stuffed with keywords. You are writing title tags for search engines, bots, rather than visitors. Who is searching and visiting websites? Humans. Write your title (and meta description) for humans, to encourage them to click through. They are your "sales pitch" to humans in the search results.

    Limit the title to 70 characters, but you can probably get away with having a few more, as you need to add your brand on (but use a pipe):

    (home page): "brand | page title"
    (other pages): "page title | brand"

    Your gut feeling is wrong, but so is this marketing company. You should do some research (friends and family members who don't know about SEO/web development, for example): create a list of titles, which includes your original title plus 3-5 alternatives and about 5 of your competitors (ones that are ranking well) and ask them which ones appeals to them more. Rank them in order of appeal, so you can understand what they consider the best and the spammiest. Of course, do not let them know which are yours. From this result, you will know the best (or can create a better) title.

    Remember, do not try to jam everything into your title. Take advantage of the title and meta description in order to encourage visitors.
     
    ryan_uk, Feb 13, 2014 IP
  6. rkearns83

    rkearns83 Peon

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    #6
    Thanks for the feedback guys. It has been very helpful. I have a good idea of what I need to do know.
     
    rkearns83, Feb 17, 2014 IP