Hi Everyone, It has been suggested that the <title> should have a limited number of words and only the keywords should be used in order to not dilute the keyword for that page. For example, a page on Ergonomics would be: <title>Ergonomics & Ergonomic Resources</title> But I have three main topics on three different pages. So I used to have three keywords in a sentence for the same Ergonomics page, such as: <title>Ergonomics, Human Factors & User Interface Design Internet Links from Usernomics Consulting.</title> Which would be preferable? Bob
i think the second option is better. i also think that a good title includes the site name or domain name or company name...whichever is most appropriate. for example...some pages on this forum are titled.... 'Digital Point Forums - Search Results' or 'Digital Point Forums - Reply to Topic' these are good page titles. ...but some pages are titled... 'Suggestions and Feedback Forum' or 'What's the perfect title?' these are not good page titles. the page loses its frame of reference with titles like that. for example... if someone saves this page to their favorites.... the domain or company of the page is not present in the shortcut name. this is not the best thing from a usability [or marketing] standpoint.
On my forums, I've placed the subject first and then a quick blarb about my forum, something like this: Where to find fish? - Misohoni, Best site in Hong Kong
Thanks for the replies. Yes, the more descriptive option is the one I have always used - keeping it down to 60 characters. I do plan to have a different title for each page. My point is that an SEO pro suggested that the title can be diluted with additional words. So, if you have three main keywords for the whole site, you should only mention the keyword for a given page in that page's title. He takes the point even further saying that each word in a title dilutes the effect of the main keyword in that title. So you end up with a one or two word title. Leaving all the other words off such as the company name. This does assume that you are not trying to optimize for the company name. So he would argue for the frist option in my previous post is the most effective. The second option would be more like the description meta tag. In a way this does make sense in that only the bots read the title while the description may well be shown on the search results page. Does this logic make sense? Bob
I reached the number one spot by using my principal keyword for one of my sites. Then I got the guts to expand the title and the ranking stuck. I got more guts and changed the page content. Still number one. My backlinks were mainly for the principal keyword, I didn't have as amny links but they were usually the link text was the principal search term. My pagerank was lower than the number two and three ranked sites. The keyword was and always remained the first word in the title and second last word. Original: Keyword Now: [(Keyword) phrase] word word (keyword) word Still number one What kept me there was the backlinks - but what gets me the traffic is the clickability of the title and description when it appears on different search terms. Once you are where you want to be rank wise - it does matter if your title and description is rubish or copy that gets clicks. Do a search on your site with your keywords and phrases and look at what part of the page the search engine grabs to display under your title. It will ususally be either the description or where in the page the search phrase is mentioned closest to the next mention of the same phrase. The copy could be: I woke up this morning and felt like I really need to buy keyword phrase. Because keyword phrase really makes you SMILE! Keyword phrase makes my wife happy because my smile 'Is not a frown!' Hopefully the search engine will describe the sites as: Keyword Phrase word word keyword word buy keyword phrase. Because keyword phrase really makes you SMILE! Keyword phrase makes my wife happy because my smile 'Is not a frown!' www.keyword-phrase.com/ - 14k - 29 May 2004 - Cached - Similar pages But thats what I like and think is clickable - the point is examine how the description displays on different engines on different keywords and phrases so you 'listing' in the serps is really clickable. either way with the title - I prefer the keyword or phrase first in the title.
Thanks Dominic. Very interesting. But why add the additional words to the <title> since only the keyword is relevant? As you point out, the description may be read by people but the title is only read by the bot. I am at #7 in Google for Human Factors (Usernomics) with a good title that is less then 60 characters. I know that IBL's are the main thing that will help my SERP's but perahps a title with only the keyword would help a little. Any thoughts on that? Bob
You can find people who claim all kinds of extremes for every part of a page and about how to do SEO. I think some common sense has to brought to the situation. 1. It is generally agreed that the Title is the most important on page element as far as Google in particular is concerned. However having said that it is not anchor text. A title should be a brief but informative statement of what the page is about. 2. I am of the opinion that the prime keyword phrase should be used in the beginning of the Title. If you want to use the company name do it like this: "Prime Keyword phrase: from Company Name". 3. The title as displayed in the browser is normally truncated after approx 60 characters, so I don't think a title should be longer than this. But I don't believe that additional words will dilute the power of the keywords in the title. 4. Ergobob seems to be taking it as given that you should never optimize for more than one keyword per page. I don't think this is abolutley the case. You can use two or three different keywords phrases, as long as the all relate to one basic subject, on a page. And you can also use more than one keyword phrase in the title. Now Ergobob continues to talk about a keyword. I hope he is talking about at least a two word keyword phrase. Certainly you would never put a single word in a title and nothing else, as would follow from the suggestion that you don't want to dilute it. That's ridiculous in my mind. In my view anchor text should be restricted to a single keyword phrase, whether that is a two, three, four or possibly a five word phrase. But a title should be a more descriptive phrase than pure anchor text.
Hi Compar, Thanks for the reply. My main keywords for three different pages are: Ergonomics, Human Factors, and User Interface Design. I am talking about the <title> "meta tag" (I know it is not really a meta tag) but the <title> would not be seen on the page. Given that, the original post shows two options: the first is the minimalist version and the second is more of a sentence with related keywords for a page about Ergonomics. Here they are again: <title>Ergonomics & Ergonomic Resources</title> vs. <title>Ergonomics, Human Factors & User Interface Design Internet Links from Usernomics Consulting.</title> Which would be most effective froman SEO viewpoint? Thanks a lot, Bob
From an SEO point of view, the most effective title is the one that describes the theme/content of your page in a concise way that includes your targeted keywords. E.g. - You've got three pages, one on ergonomics, one on human factors, and one on uid. The title that I would probably use for the page on ergonomics would be something like this... "Ergonomics in the office and at home.†If I had to choose out of the two in your first post I'd say - title 1. Hope this helps.
Thanks Clare, That is what I always thought. I may have gotten some bum advice from an SEO guy that has been "helping" me. Bob
So basically a topic that would cover everything would be best. So for example if you had a bakery and you also sold balloons you would want to create a name that would describe a whole genre such as the topics on your site. For example would be called Bakery and More. You get the idea not the best name for a place, but covers more of a wide range and it ties into the whole site.