From Title Tags to Traffic: Trapping Topical Web Visits

One of the most important factors in determining a Web page’s position for any given search term is its title tag. The title tag is part of a Web document’s meta-data - a piece of information that explains something about the document itself. If you are unfamiliar with HyperText Markup, the title of a Web page will appear at the top of your browser window. The title can be found opposite the window ‘resize’ and ‘close’ buttons when using a PC, adjacent if you’re on a Mac.

The title of a Web page is also the headlining link that appears on the SERPs after you submit your query. Taking this into consideration, the title tag is not only important for the search engine crawling robots and the ranking algorithms themselves, it also has a very important human element as well. It is imperative that your title tag grab the attention of your target audience and compel them to click through to your Web page. Think of the title tags on your Web site as the front page headlines on your favorite tabloid newspaper. Yes, the publications that you never buy, but the ones that always leave you thinking about the stories referenced by those that bogus, yet effective, headlines.

With all this in mind, the title tag needs your utmost and careful attention. To satisfy both the search engine spiders and your target demographic, the keyword that you are essentially “going after” should appear in its full form as close to the beginning of the phrase as possible. Make sure your keyword appears within the first 65 characters and try not to let the title run on much longer than this. A different length of characters is shown depending on which search engine is being used, however 65 characters seems to be a good heuristic to follow when crafting effective page titles.

After you have identified and inserted your keyword, be sure to develop a compelling title. Think to yourself: would someone click on this link if it was, say, a classified ad or a reference to a piece in a newspaper or periodical? If it doesn’t pass your test for reader interest, chances are, it won’t pass your potential sale’s test either.

Not all titles can be engaging. If you are having trouble using your keyword effectively in a compelling context, try to break your keyword out from rest of the copy with a delimiter. Such delimiters that work well are pipes [|], arrows [>], and colons [:]. Is there any delimiter that works better than others? As far as ranking algorithms go, not really. These characters, just like every other one in a given set, have a different value , so honestly, it’s the same for search engines is you use any isolated character, be it an ‘a’, ‘q’, or a ‘~’.

However, different delimiters may affect human browsing patterns. For example, using the ‘>’ can subjectively lead a visitor to believe that this page is a child of a parent page or category (“Shoes > Women’s Shoes > Heels > Steve Madden”). On the other hand, both the pipe and the colon can be useful for extracting the keyword from the rest of the title completely (“Women’s Shoes | Designer Styles at Discount Prices” or “Women’s Shoes: Brands You Like at Prices You Love”).

Whichever way you choose to craft your titles, be sure to give them the meticulous care and attention they deserve. For more information about effective onsite strategies that you can use to increase the marketing effectiveness of your Web site, contact cosmeticSEO.com or continue browsing through the many helpful entries in our Advanced Marketing For Cosmetic Surgeons Blog.

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