SEO-Page Title
This article on SEO will cover the page title and how optimizing just this one element can dramatically improve search engine page rankings (SERP) for that page/post.
Granted, there are many more techniques for optimizing a page/post for SERP such as: meta descriptions, meta keywords, body text, H1 headings, bold text, anchor texts, and img alt texts. However, if you follow the recommendations given below for just the page title, you will be able to watch your page/post rise in search engine rankings over time. Yes, it is that important!
Page Titles
A page title is probably the most important element of your page/post. If you do nothing, other than to optimize your page title, you will have an advantage to the competition and will watch as your page improves in rank over time.
- Calculate the Ideal Number of Words for the Page Title – Most page titles are typically four to nine words and 30 to 70 characters in length (this includes spaces). Try very hard not to exceed 11 words and 60 letters and spaces. To find the ideal number of words to put into the page title, simply “Google” the keyword or phrase that you want to target. You should get ten listings on the Google results page. Simply count up all the words in the page titles of those listings and divide by the number of listings you counted the words in. The number of words you get for your page title should be between five to nine.
- Make Sure the Page Title is Relevant to the Content of the Page – The page title should represent the content of that page, accurately describe the information presented on that page and include the keywords you have chosen to target.
- DON’T USE ALL CAPS IN THE PAGE TITLE – Using all caps in the page title is annoying and statistically proven difficult to read for many people as well.
- The Page Title Should Not Be Duplicated – You want to develop the page title to target the primary keyword or phrase for that page. When all the page titles are the same, usually the home page will rank and leave all other pages/posts invisible to the search engines.
- Add A Descriptive Modifier Before the Keyword or Phrase – By adding a descriptive modifier before the keyword or phrase in the page title it becomes less likely to get filtered out of search results and will also help you rank well for additional terms.
- Great Page Titles Evoke An Emotional Response – Try to compose page titles that make people curious and want to click on them. This is especially true if you are a blog creating linkbait.
- Don’t Repeat Keywords or Phrases Back-to-Back – Using keyword or keyword phrases back-to-back will cause the keyword or phrase to have too high of a density which will lower your SERP.
In conclusion, always remember, the page title is one of the most important elements to getting a good SERP ranking for the page/post you are trying to promote. It is the very first bit of information about your page/post so make sure it leaves a clicking impression!
