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Search Engine Optimization, Houston, Texas
SEO Training Experts Texas, Houston Texas SEO
Domino Marketing© 25319 Wingfild Lane Spring, Texas 77373 Telephone 281-353-8992
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Welcome to Domino Marketing©! Search Engine Optimization, Houston, Texas. Our purpose is to help you maximize your presence on line with our
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All About Title Tags
All About Title Tags Whatever text you place in the title tag will appear in the reverse bar of someone's browser when they view the web page.
For instance, within the title tag of this page that you are reading is this text:
Search Engine Optimization Texas SEO Texas SEO Experts Texas TX Telephone 281-353-8992
All About Title Tags
What Is a Title Tag? The title tag is one of the most important factors in achieving high search engine rankings. A title tag is essentially an HTML code snippet that creates the words that appear in the top bar of your Web browser.
The HTML code for a title tag looks like this:
<HEAD>
<TITLE>XYZ Company Home Page</TITLE>
</HEAD>
The title tag belongs in the <HEAD> section of your source code, and is generally followed by your Meta description and Meta keywords tags. The order of these tags is not critical, so don't worry if your HTML editor places them in a different position.
Some Web site design tools and content management systems (CMS) automatically generate the title tag from information you provide. You may have noticed Web pages that are labeled "Page 1," "Page 2," or "Home Page" in the browser title bar. You'll often see titles like these being used by beginning Web site designers who simply don't know how to use their software or their title tag for maximum benefit.
Search Engines and Title Tags
All search engines use title tags to gather information about your Web site. The words in the title tag are what appear in the clickable link on the search engine results page (SERP). What you put in this tag is a key factor in which search queries you will rank highly with in the major search engines. Title tags are definitely one of the "big three" as far as the algorithmic weight given to them; they are equally as important as your visible text copy and the links pointing to your pages.
Do Company Names Belong in the Title Tag?
For years I was adamantly against "wasting" precious title tag space on company names. However, now that I work with many well-known brands, I've altered my thinking on this. I've found that it's fine to place your company name in the title, even to place it at the beginning of the tag! In fact, if your company is already a well-known brand, I'd say that it's essential. Even if you're not a well-known brand yet, chances are you'd like to eventually be one. The title tag gives you a great opportunity to further this cause.
This doesn't mean that you should put just your company name in the title tag. Even the most well-known brands will benefit from a good descriptive phrase or two added to this tag, as it will serve to enhance your brand as well as your search engine rankings. The people who already know your company and seek it out by name will be able to find you in the engines, and so will those who never heard of you, but who seek the products or services you sell.
For example, if your company is "Johnson and Smith Inc." and you are a tax accounting firm in Texas, you shouldn't place only the words "Johnson and Smith Inc." in your title tag, but instead use something like "Johnson and Smith Inc. Tax Accountants in Texas."
Title Tags Should Contain Specific Keyword Phrases
As a Texas tax accountant, you would want your company's site to appear in the search engine results for searches on phrases such as "Texas tax accountants" and "CPAs in Texas." You would need to be even more specific if you prefer to work for people only in the Dallas area. In that case, use keywords such as "Dallas tax accountants" in your site's title tags. This is a key point: If you're only seeking customers or clients in a specific geographical region, your keywords need to reflect that. People looking for a tax accountant in Dallas may begin their search by simply entering "tax accountant" in the search engine. However, once they see that their search is returning accountants from all over the world, they'll narrow the search by adding "Dallas" to their search terms. When they do, you want your site to be right there on the first page of new results.
In our Dallas accountants example, you might create a title tag as follows:
<TITLE>Johnson and Smith Inc. Tax Accountants in Dallas</TITLE>
or you might try something like this:
<TITLE>Johnson and Smith Inc. Dallas CPAs</TITLE>
However, there's more than enough space in the title tag to include both of these important keyword phrases. (In fact, search engines will display 60 to 115 characters of your title tag.) Here's an example of an approach I like even better:
<TITLE>Johnson and Smith Inc. - Dallas Tax Accountants - CPAs in Dallas, TX</TITLE>
Today's search engines are not case-sensitive; therefore I generally use initial caps in this tag because it looks the cleanest. I used to often use ALL CAPS in parts of my title tag because when the engines were case sensitive, it would give me a different variation of my phrase. However, ALL CAPS looks somewhat spammy in the SERPs, so I generally avoid this practice these days.
As for placing the word "Dallas" twice in the title tag, I have found this approach to be both permissible and effective. Just make sure that you don't put the same words right next to each other. For example, a tag that reads "Accountants in Dallas -- Dallas CPAs" may trigger a red flag with the search engines, possibly making that word ignored entirely. (Search engines see hyphens and commas as spaces, which is why they would count that example as the same word next to itself.) In order to play it safe, it's probably a good idea to not use any given word more than two times in the title.
Use Your Visible Text Copy as Your Guide
I personally would not be able to create a title tag for any page until the copy on the page has been written and optimized. I need to see how the copywriter integrated the keyword phrases into the visible text copy to know where to begin. If you've done a good job with your writing (or better yet, hired a professional SEO copywriter), you should find all the information you need right there on your page. Simply choose the most relevant keyword phrases that the copy was based on, and write a compelling title tag accordingly. If you're having trouble with this, and can't seem to get a handle on what the most important phrases are for any given page, you probably need to rewrite the copy.
The optimal approach when writing copy for a Web site is to think of the main phrases that best reflect your business, and then compose the text around them. When you write your title tag, you simply revisit these same phrases, and compose your keyword-rich title accordingly. I recommend that you don't take an exact sentence pulled from your copy and use it as your title tag. It's my preference to have a unique sentence or compelling string of words in this tag.
So what if a keyword phrase you want to use doesn't actually appear within your visible copy? Does this mean you shouldn't use this phrase in the title tag?
Well, yes and no. Since the title tag is given a lot of weight in the engines, even if you're not willing to change the text on your page, you may be able to rank highly simply by placing your phrase in this tag. Just note that for any phrase that is even slightly competitive, having it in the title tag and not the copy will generally limit its overall effectiveness. You'd want to be sure to gain lots of keyword-rich links to your site in these cases, which can also work in conjunction with your title.
You'd be better off still if you'd rewrite the text on your page so that it utilizes the phrases that are important to you. This doesn't mean to just stick keywords at the top or bottom of the page. It doesn't mean to hide them in the background. Nor does it mean to put them in a tiny font so that no one will notice them. If certain keyword phrases are important enough that you want your site to be found under them in the search engines, they are certainly important enough to be elegantly incorporated into the body text of your page.
Once you've incorporated your phrases into the text of your site, you'll find that creating brilliant title tags that help with branding as well as with getting found in the search engines is truly a no-brainer!
Increase your Click-Throughs With Killer Title Tags
By Robin Nobles
As you probably know, the majority of engines place considerable relevance on the HTML title tag, making it generally the most important tag on your page.
You also probably know that title tags appear in the search results for most of the major engines, making the tags even more important. But, have you ever taken the time to learn how to create killer title tags, tags that will boost click-throughs, or traffic, to your site?
To make a point about how important titles are, let's look at some sample search results. In a search for "low cost life insurance" in one of the major engines, here are some of the titles from the top ten results.
- #1 worldwide travel insureance quotes!
- Untitled
- Oklahoma Insurance Quotes Auto Home Health Life Business
Do any of those titles appeal to you? Notice that the first example has a misspelled word, which doesn't elicit much confidence in the site. The second example isn't even using a title tag, which is why it's listed as "untitled." The third example is simply a listing of capitalized keywords, which isn't as easy to read.
Now, let's say that the next three titles on the page are:
- Does your low cost life insurance policy give you the coverage you need?
- Low cost life insurance at a price that's right for you!
- Stop paying too much for "low" cost life insurance!
Would you skip over the first three listed titles to visit one of the titles above?
My point is, if your title is more effective than sites that are actually above you in the ranking, you may get the traffic anyway, simply due to the effectiveness of your title tag.
Furthermore, offering something for free almost always improves response rates. For example:
- 21 Ways to reduce your life insurance costs for free
Notice how the above title emphasizes a benefit (i.e., saving money) while mentioning it is FREE. The "21 Ways" quickly defines what they'll be getting to achieve the benefit.
Top Tips for Creating Killer Titles
Let's look at some tips for creating killer title tags, and then some mistakes that will cause your site to be passed over in the search results.
- Use compelling or "charged" words in your titles that will draw the user in to your site. Examples are: breakthrough, incredible, how-to, announcing, and revealing. Avoid over-used words and adjectives.
- Use the power of questions when creating title tags. When you ask a question, you force the reader to stop and mentally answer that question, which boosts your chances at a visit to your site.
- Use your important keyword phrase toward the beginning of your title tag, but use the phrase in a way that will pull in traffic.
- Begin the title with a capital letter, and then follow with all lower-case letters. Why? It's easier to read than titles with every word capitalized.
- Treat title tags as if they're advertisements for your online business. Make them short, snappy, and easy to read.
- Write your title in a way that makes the user believe that the site will solve a problem or help the user in some way.
- Create a sense of urgency in your title tags, when possible.
- Make sure to use a title tag on every page of your site, and make sure that the title tag is the first tag on your page.
Top Mistakes Made when Creating Titles
- Don't use just a series of keywords in your title tag. It's unprofessional and difficult to read.
- Don't use complicated words in your title tag, unless those words are commonplace to whoever would be visiting your site.
- Don't use all caps in your title tag. In other words, don't yell at your potential visitors!
- Don't slap up a dull and boring title. Spend some time creating an effective online marketing plug for your site.
- Don't use your keyword phrase more than once in your title tag.
- Don't use your company name in your title tag unless you use your important keyword phrase as well.
- Don't use yellow page tactics when creating titles in an effort to get to the top of the rankings. In other words, don't add a "!!!" or "AAA" to the front of your title to try to get higher in the alphabetical order. It won't help you with the engines, and editors at the directories won't allow the tactic anyway.
- Don't use passive verbs like is, was, and has. Try to use active, exciting verbs like launch, catapult, and unleashes.
In Conclusion . . .
Create your title tags in such a way that they will serve as an online marketing campaign for your site. Remember that a well-written and effective title can make up for a lower search engine ranking.
Spend a lot of time on your title tags, and it ultimately will pay off for you in renewed traffic to your site.
by Jill Whalen
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