How to Create A Title Tag For SEO

What is a title tag?

It allows a webpage builder to give a title to their page. It’s part of the metadata and helps search engines understand a webpage. The HTML code for it is

If you are using Google Chrome as your browser, an easy way to check the title tag of a webpage is to right-click on an empty part of the page and select View Page Source. Doing so displays how the page has been coded, and you can use the find function to search for the title tag.

Where is it displayed?

A title tag will be displayed when the webpage is open in the browser title bar. Search engines can also use it when they show your web pages within their search results.

Are title tags compulsory?

No, search engines can still index a page even if it does not have a title tag. However, it’s best SEO practice to add it to the page.

What happens if there isn’t a title tag on the page?

If search engines cannot find one, they will create one themselves. Also, search engines are not obligated to use the page’s title tag. They may auto-generate a new one if they feel it suits a user’s search query better.

It often happens when a user searches for a brand name; however, the brand’s website’s title tag is full of keywords. In this scenario, search engines may replace the keywords with the brand name to help users find them more easily.

Can I force search engines to use the title tag on my web pages?

Unfortunately, this isn’t possible, but search engines generally use the provided title tag for a given page.

However, if, for example, your web page only talks about cats and the title tag is full of keywords about buying a dog, search engines will usually replace it to try and reduce negative user experience.

How important is the title tag for SEO?

According to Ryan’s Digital Marketing, the title tag is vital for any on-page SEO. Over the years, Google has decreased the amount of SEO weight given to it. However, it is a reasonably important ranking factor, and because it is relatively easy to implement, it’s virtually a no-brainer that you take care of it.

How long should a title tag be?

The amount of space available varies between search engines and devices. However, if you use between 60-70 characters, it should fit the space correctly.

The amount of space available is based on pixels, and because different characters use varying amounts of pixels, the exact number varies; hence, we suggest using 60-70 characters.

How many keywords should I target?

It’s possible to use as many keywords as will fit the space available. However, there is no need to over-optimise it by repeating the same keyword. Doing so could appear spammy, and potentially, you also risk the possibility of being penalised by search engines for trying to game the system. It’s essential to place the most important keyword at the start of the title tag because search engines will give it more attention.

How should I separate keywords?

In reality, you can use whatever character symbol you prefer. However, the most widespread use is either using the hyphen or pipe. We consider the pipe a better option because it uses less space than the hyphen. As a result, it provides more room to include additional keywords within the area available.

Just a special note on using emojis, they can potentially help draw more attention to your search results because they are generally more colourful. However, the drawback might be that fewer people click on your search engine results because it may seem less professional. It could also appear spammy.

Is it ok to use my company name within the title tag?

Yes. You certainly can. However, unless you are trying to rank for your brand name specifically, it’s better to use it at the end of the title tag.

Search engines give more weight to keywords at the start, and therefore, if you have a unique company name, it would be redundant to have it at the beginning because your website will almost certainly get ranked for your brand name by default. Therefore, using the valuable space at the start is better to target more competitive keywords with higher search values.

How do I implement title tags onto my web pages?

If your website has been built using WordPress, you can easily download many plugins, such as Yoast SEO. Once you have activated the plugin, you can update the title tags for your web pages in your dashboard.

Summary

Title tags are straightforward to implement and won’t take much time at all to implement. It’s also best SEO practice to have them. Therefore, you should consider ensuring they are optimised correctly on your website’s pages.