When you embark on a natural referencing strategy, it is essential to work well on optimizing your title tag. It is indeed one of the most important tags in SEO since it is one of the factors that have the most weight on Google. It is also the first element that a user sees when performing a search on a search engine.
So what does the title tag really correspond to and how is it fundamental for the natural referencing of your site?
What is a title tag?
The title tag is an HTML coding tag that corresponds to the title of a web page. It is visible on the browser tab and on the SERP in blue and as a clickable link. In general, it is composed as follows: description, separator, and site name. The title tag of our website is simple, it is “Digital Marketing Agency Lahore”.
The title tag is accessible either via the source code or via the site’s CMS. On WordPress, for example, you must install the Yoast SEO plugin to modify this.
Why is the title tag important in SEO?
The title tag is one of the first key steps to take to optimize an on-page website.
The title tag makes it possible to contextualize a site by describing its content in a general way. It is therefore an additional aid to help the search engine to sort and position a web page. The title tag is then included on the results pages to give Internet users a first idea of the content of the site. The tag text is the first thing a user sees when they search, so it’s important to take good care of it. A well-written title tag will therefore increase the click-through rate (and therefore the traffic) by standing out from the other pages offered by Google on the SERPs.
How to optimize your title tag?
As you will have understood, the title tag is as important for Google as it is for Internet users. For it to be well-optimized and catchy, here are some criteria to work on:
The number of characters: we generally recommend writing 65 characters, including spaces. Google indeed cuts the title tags from a certain number of characters, so this can have an impact on the click rate of your site.
Use the relevant keywords for your page but do not overdo it, a series of keywords will not push the Internet user to click to access your site. Know that Google gives more importance to the first word of the title tag, so do not hesitate to place your main keyword there.
To write a relevant title tag, put yourself in the user’s shoes. What search would you have done to reach your page? Do not hesitate to ask questions, Internet users are fond of it. If you want to indicate the name of the company, prefer the end of the tag, unless your brand is already famous. Finally, avoid using too many articles so as not to lose character calibration, but remain human!
Little writing tips: use numbers (5 uses of white vinegar) or even dates (SEO: the 2022 guide). Special characters also give a more aesthetic look to a title.
Vary the tags, don’t use the same text for each of your pages. If you are always targeting the same keywords and phrases for 20 different pages, Google will only consider one page because it will consider them duplicate tags. However, if you use different titles for each page, you will be positioned for each request.
To create relevant tags that will have a chance of being positioned, do not hesitate to use the “all in title” command. By typing on Google “allintitle: yoga books” you will only find pages containing the title tag “yoga book”. This research will allow you to refine your choice of keywords by determining the highly competitive queries and those on which you can easily position yourself.
Mistakes to avoid in a title tag
Using only the main keyword related to your activity is a mistake not to make. You must vary the keywords of your tags and create unique title tags for each of your pages. A single title per page is the golden rule for writing your title and being well-positioned!
It is also important to differentiate the title from the H1 title of the page. Also, keep your main keyword for the tag and use long tails or secondary keywords for your title.
Avoid at all costs generic formulas such as “Home page” or “Welcome to the Y site”.
Do not use capitalized keywords, Google does not appreciate this kind of practice.
Ban tags that are too short or too long. Tags that are too long are truncated by Google. While tags that are too short represent a significant opportunity to position yourself. In fact, sometimes just one more keyword is enough to obtain better positioning.
How to create or verify your title tags?
To create or check your title tags you can access the HTML code of your page: the tag is in the head part, and it is indicated as “</title>. Most CMS also gives direct access to the tag, so you will be able to modify them easily.
To check the tags already present on the pages of your site (or absent), your SEO agency will launch what is called a crawl. The crawl will review all of your site’s title tags. You will be able to sort by removing duplicate title tags, and filling in missing tags. But also adjusting tags that are too long and too short.
