Page titles are still vital for search engine optimization. But they must always start with keyword research. And make sure to conduct a competitive analysis. While staying at home, you may consider auditing your page titles. It is one of our SEO experts recommendations.
You should not give up your SEO efforts just because there is a pandemic. Remember that this is only a temporary situation.
Some businesses are halting their SEO campaigns. But this is a huge mistake and also an opportunity for you. While your competitors are thinking twice about SEO, you should double your effort to boost your ranking.
And one way to do that is to audit your page titles.
Page Titles as SEO Experts Recommendations
Your page titles can help in driving more traffic to your sites not just during this pandemic but over the coming months or years. It has to be done regularly.
Before you audit, though, make sure that you evaluate the keywords that your content is ranking for. Use Google Search Console to do it. Or you may use other tools to help you get a comprehensive view of your page titles as it crawls your URLs.
From there, you will know what keywords are giving you traffic. Then, you can analyze whether or not the keywords are intentional.
Auditing your page titles can give you a better understanding of your website. It shows you the kind of content that does well. With the right data, you can change the elements of your content so you can rank higher for the keywords you wish to rank for.
What is the Right Page Title?
The title must not be too long. Otherwise, it gets truncated.
The problem with truncated page titles is that they have lower CTR. When we audit our clients’ post or page titles, we ensure that they don’t exceed 68 characters.
Keep in mind that the titles are for the searchers. You should grab their attention so you can reap the benefits.
Now, what about mobiles?
Desktop and mobile devices have a different way to display page titles. If you try to search for someone on your mobile, you will find that Google extends page titles up to 80 characters. In that case, if your title is truncated on the desktop, it might not be the same on mobile.
Should you edit them? Before you do so, make sure that you know where your site traffic is coming from. If the majority of your site is from mobile, you might stay within 80 characters. However, if most of your traffic is coming from a desktop, then consider shortening the titles.
How About Adding Your Brand Name?
If your brand name is short and it is catchy, then it is perfectly okay to add it to throughout your site. It helps with branding. If your brand has a keyword, it can result in a long-tail key phrase.
Then again, if you add your brand name, it will be cut off in SERPs. You need to do some experiments, though. Essentially, if your brand is still new, you should consider adding it to your title.
However, if your brand is already known in your industry, there is no need to add it to every post.
Whether or not you add your brand name to the title, the most important thing is that the title must attract your searcher’s attention.
Make sure that the title reflects the gist of the specific page. With accurate title and description, the search engine will know what your content is all about. They can also help searchers in knowing whether or not your content answers their questions.
Thus, instead of using “home” on your home page, try changing it to something unique.
Add the Right Keywords
Your content will get better rankings if you use the right keywords. The best way to add keywords for your title is to include them at the start of your title.
However, you must only do so if it is appropriate. Keep in mind that Google doesn’t like stuffing your titles with keywords. If you stuff your title with keywords, Google will consider it as spammy. If that happens, it creates a bad user experience. Searchers will not click on your title.
Titles may just be 80 characters. But they can be a vital factor in attracting more audiences. Some website owners would overlook them. However, ignoring them will only lower your ranking as your searchers will not be too compelled to click on your title or content.
Writing an effective page title can take a lot of time. It also requires experimenting. That’s why it is ideal that you do title auditing regularly. Find out which titles are giving you high CTR.
Consult our SEO Experts for more recommendations on how to conduct overall site auditing. Give us a call at (213) 322-0770.