Title tag

A small guide to the title tag

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What is a Title?

A title is an HTML element that specifies a title on a web page. The title tags are displayed on search engine results pages when looking for a given result, which then appears as a clickable link on the search results page. The title tag is important for ease of use, SEO, and sharing on social media. The title of a web page is should be a brief and accurate description of what the page covers.

The code is written like this:

 	<title>Your title goes here</title>

This should not be confused with <h1> <h2> <h3> etc – which describes the content of your text. Read more about headings here.

Optimal title length

Typically, Google displays the first 50-60 characters of a title tag. If you manage to keep the titles below 60 characters, you can assume that about 90% of your titles will appear the way you want. However, there is no fixed limit for characters; this is because the characters we have vary in width. For example, the letter I is narrower than the letter B.

Why are these titles so relevant?

Titles are the first thing people see and use to get an impression of your page. They are also an essential factor in letting search engines understand what your page is about. Title tags are used in pages with search engine results, browsers, and social networks. Below you can find a bit more information: Here we will explain to you a little how:

Search Engine Results

Your title tag is the first thing your visitor sees on your site. Although your page ranks high on searches, it is not a given that the visitor to the site wants to stay on your page (if they click in at all). A good title is, therefore, crucial to whether or not the reader will click through to your site.

Browsers

Your title will also appear at the top of your browser, serving as a placeholder or bookmark. This is especially true for people who have many tabs at the same time, so it is important to have unique and easily recognizable titles with related keywords near the front. This way, people will have a good overview of your content.

Social networks

Some external sites, especially social networks, often use the title tag to decide what to show when sharing that page. It is important to remember that some social networks have their own meta tags. This allows you to specify titles in addition to your main title. Facebook and Twitter do this, among other things. It can give you the ability to optimize for each network and use longer titles when you need it.

How to Write a good title code

Title tags are a very important part of both search engine optimization and the searcher’s user experience. It is therefore important to get an effective and SEO-friendly title tag.

As a general rule of thumb, you may want to keep the titles below 60 characters. If your title is too long, the search engines can cut it, and the searcher must click on the link to read the rest. This is not ideal, as most people searching for something online want find it as quickly as possible. It is therefore important that you include all relevant words in the title so that the reader can easily find what he or she is looking for.

Keep in mind that if you use more wide witdth letters, you risk having your less of your itle displayed. For example, a w will take up more space than an i. You risk getting the title cut earlier when using letters like w than when you have more letters and characters that are narrower. Avoid usings CAPSLOCK when possible, as upper case letters take up more space than lower case letters. In addition, it is more difficult to read capital letters, so here it is important to use CAPSLOCK with care.

Longer titles, in some cases, may work better for social sharing, and some titles are naturally long. Consider what specifically you’re going for before making the titles. A good tip is to think like a user you’re targeting. “What am I looking for? What do I want to find?”

Don’t overdo the use of SEO keywords

There is no point in exaggerating with SEO keywords. Here it is important to think about how it looks to the reader! “We sell bikes. Cheap bikes. Good bikes. Bikes for sale. Bikes at great prices” can tire easily. Avoid using titles that are just a list of keywords that repeat over and over again. TSearch engines understand varaitions of keywords, so there is no need for repetition.

Give each page its own, unique title

Individual, unique titles help search engines understand that your content is unique. In addition, they provide higher click-through rates. Creating a unique title for each page or tab may seem difficult, but modern CMS and code-based templates actually allow you to create data-driven, unique titles for just about every important page of your website. Avoid titles like “home” and “new page” as these can cause Google to suspect you of duplicating content. Again, think of the applicant: Will I click on a page called “Untitled”?

Put important keywords first

According to both testing and experience, keywords nearer the beginning of the title tag can have a greater impact on search rankings. One should therefore add important keywords to the start of the title, or as close to the start as possible. You then avoid the search engines cutting the title before the key keywords are seen by the searcher.

Take advantage of your brand

If you have a strong and well-known brand, you can use this in the title to increase your clickthrough rate. However, we usually recommend that you put the name of the brand last, although there are some cases where you should be more brand focused.

Google can also automatically add your brand to the display titles, so it’s good to be aware of how search results appear.

Write for your customers

While title tags are important for SEO, it’s just as important to keep in mind that what you are looking for is getting clicks from well-targeted visitors that you want to find your content valuable.

When creating title tags, it’s important to think about the entire user experience, as well as optimization and keywords. The title is the visitor’s first encounter with your brand when they search for it online, and it should convey the most positive and accurate message possible.

Why doesn’t Google use your title tag?

Occasionally, Google may display a title that does not match yours. This can be frustrating, but unfortunately there is no easy way to force them to use the title you have defined. When this happens, it may be due to one or more of the following:

The title is full of keywords

As we mentioned earlier, Google may try to rewrite your title if it is full of keywords. This is called “over-optimization” In such cases, you may want to rewrite the title.

Your title does not match the search / query

If your page matches a search query that is not represented in the title, Google may choose to rewrite the display title. This is not necessarily a negative thing; after all, no titles can match all imaginable searches. However, in these cases, you may want to consider whether you can rewrite it to match your keywords.

You have an alternate title

If you include alternative title data such as meta tags for Twitter, Facebook, or similar, Google may choose to use these titles instead of yours. TThis is fine, but if it creates a display title, you may want to rewrite the alternative title data.

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Additional reading

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