SEO Title Tag: A Comprehensive Guide with Examples

SEO Title Tag: Definition

SEO title tag or meta title is the super HTML tag specified for the title of a website. It is also one of the Onpage SEO tactics that affects the title displayed on SERPs or media channels.

 

Title tag is an important SEO factor

SEO Title Tag: Placement on SERPs

An SEO title has more than one display location, but the most common is on search engine results pages. Therefore, SEO title is the first thing exposed to users before they decide to visit your site.

 

The right title tag helps boost SEO rankings

SEO Title Tag: Benefits

SEO titles play a crucial role in the success of implementing SEO for websites. Specifically, the right SEO title tag:

• Is among the factors impacting keyword rankings
• Piques users’ curiosity and provides a clear overview of the content
• As the very first touch-point, hugely influences the decision to click and visit a website, resulting in CTR for the site

Choose the right image title tag for better Onpage SEO

SEO Title Tag: The Formula

The golden formula for writing SEO titles includes the following elements:

• The title is of reasonable length
• The title is unique
• The title contains the main keyword put at the right place
• The title captures the main content
• The title sounds natural and attracts attention
• The title aims to solve the user’s search intent
• The title conveys the benefits for the user

Let’s deep dive in each element for better understanding.

The title is of reasonable length

The optimal length for the title to be fully displaced on SERPs is 65-70 characters (including spaces), or about 512 pixels. Exceeding these numbers and your title will have “…” at the end to indicate that not all words are shown.

In this case, it will be difficult for users to understand the overview of your content, hence reducing the likelihood of clicking through.

However, the optimal number of characters for the title varies with industry. So to know the exact number applied for your niche, follow these steps:

• Step 1: Submit a query on a search engine with keywords related to your sector

• Step 2: Look for a title with “…” at the end

• Step 3: Count the number of characters of that title with Word Count tool

The Yoast SEO plugin will help you create content, make postings on your site and simplify the task of counting characters in titles. You can also use Microsoft Word to automatically count the number of characters by highlighting the meta title, going to the Review tab and clicking Word Count. A box will show up with many numbers, but you just need to pay attention to the line saying “Characters (with spaces)”.

Meta title tag plays an important role in Onpage SEO

The title is unique

Each article must have a unique title, which means no duplication for any title in your whole website. This is for Google to consider the page as new and useful to users, which leads to improvements in the indexing speed of the page or the article.  

On the other hand, avoid generic titles like “An article about…” or “A catalog of…” because Google will regard them as duplicate content both on and off the site. Ambiguous and uninteresting titles will also have a hard time attracting audience.

The title contains the main keyword put at the right place

Internet users have a habit of reading from left to right, from top to bottom. As a result, Google’s algorithms often put more value on the first words in the title and article. It leads to the best practice of placing the main keyword right at the beginning of the title, even headings and paragraphs. 

Also, this placement will ensure the main keyword in the title to be shown fully on SERPs, hence increasing the likelihood of click-throughs. But be noted that this placement is not a sure-win solution. If it makes the title sound unnatural, opt for another place to put your main keyword.

The title captures the main content

An effective title must be able to describe the main content of the article. If your title doesn’t capture the focus of the article, or even worse, totally off-target, user experience will suffer drastically. Moreover, search engines will rate the title as unrelated to the content, consequently making it less competitive on SERPs.

A catchy yet relevant title tag is best for SEO

The title sounds natural and attracts attention

As stated above, although one of the best positions for the main keyword is at the beginning of the title, don’t blindly apply it, especially if it makes the title sound weird, unnatural or machine-generated. Natural human language is highly rated by Google for bringing positive value to users.

The title aims to solve the user’s search intent

Before creating the content and deciding on the title, target audience research must be conducted to find out their locations, age groups and topics they are interested in. With this information, craft the best possible SEO title tag – one that solves the problem they are looking for. Also, the content must revolve around the title to increase customer experience on your site.

The title conveys the benefits for the user

Lying under each query is a need to find a solution to a problem. Thus, when doing SEO, put your effort in crafting an HTML or meta title tag that shows how the user can benefit from clicking on it instead of promoting your products. By this way, your content will gain more traction from users.

SEO Title Tag: What to Avoid

In addition to following the above formula, which means avoiding mistakes such as title being too long or duplicated, let’s make sure these are also in your Not-to-do list:

• Do not choose a similar or same title as Top 10 search results. Instead, analyze keywords and titles in the Top 10 to optimize for your titles.
• Do not repeat the keyword in the title even if it is just 2-3 word long.
• Do not use alternate titles because it gives Google more than one option to display your title. But if you still want to use them, invest in writing SEO copywriting titles.
• Do not write a title unrelated to the key content of the article.
• Do not capitalize all characters in the title, and avoid slangs and buzzwords.

Avoid using a vague title tag for better SEO impact

SEO Title Tag: Templates and Examples

If you are under pressure of deadlines and in dire need of a catchy SEO title, try one of these 6 templates:

• Warnings
• How-to-dos
• Toplists
• Questions to draw attention
• Sparking curiosity
• Adages, proverbs, idioms

Some title tag templates for the best SEO results

Warnings

The title focuses on negative consequences and damages to health, appearance, finance stability and the like if users overlook this article. This type of title often makes users so curious that they have to click and read. However, never try to use an offensive, scandalous or horrifying title to “bait” users.

Examples:

• Common mistakes in optimizing SEO title tag
• Avoid these sleeping postures to maintain health

How-to-dos

This is a popular title type for keywords related to topics of cooking, gardening, crafting, etc. Unsurprisingly, the number of this title type has increased during the pandemic because people have more time for these activities.

Examples:

• How to tie a tie
• Instructions to layer your hair at home

Toplists

This type is sought-after when users want to get a lot of information. Content that often uses toplist titles are shopping products, traveling locations, reputable brands in a certain sector, etc.

Examples:

• Top 10 scenic spots in Da Lat
• Top 20 must-read books for teenagers

Questions to draw attention

Many SEO practitioners prefer this title type because of its ease of use and effectiveness. It is especially effective for long-tail keywords. To get the most out of this, research on user search habits and long-tail keywords first, then build a title that users have searched for before.

Examples:

• De-Myth: Skipping Breakfast is Bad for Your Health
• The Secret of The Life of Confucius

The title tag and image must be relevant to SEO content

Sparking curiosity

Titles containing words such as “the secret” or “the truth” often stimulate users to click through. This template is effective for articles related to entrepreneurs, celebrities, learning, etc.

Adages, proverbs, idioms

Adages, proverbs and idioms have an easier time to sync with users. When the title resonates with them, the click-through rate will also increase.

Example:

• Website Design – Worth Its Weight In Gold / Website Design – Value for Money
• Midas Touch Business Ideas

SEO title tag is an important factor of Onpage SEO in particular and SEO in general. SEO meta title tag has a direct impact on the likelihood of users to click on the page displayed on Google SERPs. That’s why SEO title tag plays an important role in the traffic, indexing speed and keyword ranking of the article.

Read more: How to write suitable SEO header tags.

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you understand clearly about SEO title tags, including best practices to create them.

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