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Title Tags

Your title tag is the ‘headline that folks will see in the search results, and it’s also one of the most important ranking factors for the search engines.

I like to see a few basic concepts get followed when writing title tags…
  1. Write the title with proper spelling and grammar. There’s nothing worse than a typo showing as your headline in the search results.  Ensure that it makes sense, and can “stand alone” as a sort of headline. Do NOT just stuff a jumble of keywords in there. Remember this is the title for your search listing.
  2. Capitalize Important Words –  I think it makes your listing stick out from the bunch, even though technically,  it won’t help ( or hurt ) your rankings.  Standing out from the bunch is critical. I NEVER counsel using all caps though, because like emails written in all caps, it’s considered “shouting” and that’s unacceptable.
  3. Write the title tag as you would write a headline. As a headline, it should captivate the readers attention and inspire them to click.  What do you think is better to draw in a customer… ‘Cleveland Real Estate – Joe Blow’ or ‘Cleveland Real Estate – Buy Below Market Value’ ?
  4. Use a key phrase at the front.  I still use my primary key phrase  (unique for each page ) in the title tag when possible and I also like it at the front. Although a well designed content rich website that’s properly ‘themed’ can still rank well without having the keyword in the title, the chances are still in your favor if you do use the primary phrase in your title tag.
  5. Use your company name at the end, or not at all.  Sure it’s a nice ego boost to see your name in the bolded search results, but nobody is likely looking for you by name.  By using your company name in the title tag, you’re likely wasting space that would otherwise be used for another convincing or compelling key word.  What do you want here…new shoppers or bragging rights?

Your title tag is the first thing people see in the results, and having a good one makes a huge different in whether or not someone will even visit your listing.

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