Constructing the perfect META Title - Ranking vs CTR vs Search Volume
-
Hello Mozzers!
I want to discuss the science behind the perfect META Title in terms of three factors:
1. Ranking
2. CTR
3. Search Volume
Hypothetical scenario: A furniture company "Boogie Beds" wants to optimise their META Title tag for their "Cane Beds" ecommerce webpage.
1. The keywords "Cane Beds' has a search volume of 10,000
2. The keywords " Cane Beds For Sale" has a search volume of 250
3. The keywords "Buy Cane Beds" has a search volume of 25
One of Boogie Beds SEO's suggests a META Title "Buy Cane Beds For Sale Online | Boogie Beds" to target and rank for all three keywords and capture long tail searches.
The other Boogie Bed SEO says no! The META Title should be "Cane Beds For Sale | Boogie Beds" to target the most important two competitive keywords and sacrifice the "Buy" keyword for the other two
Which SEO would you agree more with, considering
1. Ranking ability
2. Click through rates
3. Long tail search volume
4. Keyword dilution
Much appreciated!
MozAddict
-
No, not as long as it doesn't get overused. What Google doesn't want you doing is "Cane Beds | Cane Beds for sale | Buy Cane Beds"
If you are refering to character count, Keep it as compact as possible, while still being readable. Looks like you have already done the research on what is popular and ranking, now you just need to implement in a SEF and user friendly format. Think of it this way; what would you click on if you were looking for a cane bed? If you arent sure, draft a few examples, and show them to someone else for a few opinions.
-
What about keyword dilution. Would adding too many words dilute the strength of your main keyword "Cane Beds"?
-
lol, if only it were a real scenario, id be on it!
-
lol... That is a lot better than mine.
Try it. I bet you get great CTR.
Let us know how it works!
-
I have seen a lot of sites that tie in main keywords closer together not rank as well as ones that use them in a more natural fashion.
We have done our own tests with this, and while it can take a while to find the right combination, the payoff is well worth it. When you construct the title, make sure the content, description and keyword list are all consistent.
On of the formats we have found to be successful for titles is to use the main keyword as the leader, and then be more descriptive in the secondary part of the title.
Example: Cane Beds | Boogie Beds Shopping Online Store
Keep in mind this is only an example, and could be polished better than this. If possible, use subpages to rank for additional terms or keywords rather than packing them all into one page and hoping for the best.
-
hah
Cane Beds: Boogie all night
-
<title>Cane Beds: Sleep like a Rock! </title>
-
Thats a good point Tom. A new site might not be able to outrank a competitor due to PA or DA, but one could try and win more clicks through a compelling Title and description. An offer like free shipping would certainly be more compelling.
-
Hi Andy,
Thank you for your response. There is a fine line between targeting search volume and trying to remain relevant and sacrificing certain keywords for others. With this example, I wanted to see where the fine line lies for different SEO's.
Since the site I am optimising is a new site, there isnt enough data to test the variation. But it would be interesting to test the variations and see how search engines and users respond.
My feeling is that CTR for "Buy Cane Beds For Sale Online" would be lower due to its spammy feel, even if its search volume is higher.
It would be interesting to see the argument of a Mozzer that supports the other case
-
What else do you offer?
Do you do free shipping? Running any discounts?
I'd be much more inclined to click a title tag that says: "Buy Cane Beds - Free UK Shipping | Boogie Beds". Looks like it fits in the Moz Title Tool too.
You definitely want to get your primary keyword in there - it's good for SEO and for users. But after that, make it as compelling as possible that will drive people to click your ad, even if you're #3 instead of #1. Your title tag and meta description are your shop window - make sure you stand out.
-
Hi,
I certainly wouldn't go with the first SEO's recommendation as this is sacrificing usability and a title that reads well, for one that is only there to try and get as many keywords into it as possible.
There comes a point where you have to do a bit of a trade-off, and in this case, you trade a minor phrase "Buy Cane Beds" for a more highly searched one "Cane Beds For Sale".
This just doesn't read well at all... "Buy Cane Beds For Sale Online". Keyword stuffing at its finest.
Edit- Can I also point out that it doesn't really matter that the word "buy" isn't in there, as Google is pretty smart and knows how to apply the word "buy" to someone who is selling something.
If I do a search for the phrase "Buy cane beds", no-one in the top 10 has the word "buy" in their title.
-Andy
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Page not being ranked properly
Hi, Wondering if someone could possibly shed some light on why some of our pages are not being ranked properly on Google. For example this page https://www.mypetzilla.co.uk/dog-breeds Keyword "Dog Breeds" we can't be found on and we are absolutely baffled why? Could it be that we are listing all 100 and something dog breeds on one page? Should we introduce pagination or load more as user scrolls down. This page has been up for at least 4 years. Any suggestion or advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Mypetzilla0 -
Ranking Page - Category vs. Blog Post - What is best for CTR?
Hi, I am not sure wether I shall rank with a category page, or create a new post. Let me explain... If I google for 'Basic SEO' I see an article from Rand with Authorship markup. That's cool so I can go straight to this result because I know there might be some good insight. BUT: 'Basic SEO' is also an category at MOZ an it is not ranking. On the other hand, if I google for 'advanced SEO' then the MOZ category for 'advanced SEO' is ranking. But there is no authorship image, so users are much less likely to click on that result. Now, I want to rank for a very important keyword for me (content keyword, not transactional). Therefor, I have a category called 'yoga exercises'. But shall I rather create an post about them only to increase CTR due to Google Authorship? I read in Google guidelines that Authorship on homepage an category pages are not appreciated. Hope you have some insights that can help me out.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | soralsokal0 -
Site Not Ranking- No Reason Why
I have a client with a HUGE website who should be ranking for it's competitive keywords. No penalties, or bad links. Old domain. Not ranking for anything. Client has a huge AdWords spend and my theory is that it's not ranking organically because of the AdWords spend. I can't think of anything other reason. Anyone? Thanks. The keywords I'm trying to rank this client for aren't even competitive.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | 01023450 -
Title in serch result
Hi, Im the webmaster of http://www.canexel.es and we are having some problems with the title of the home page. this is my title tag: <title></span><span>Casas de madera mucho más que casas prefabricadas - Canexel</span><span class="webkit-html-tag"></title> This what apear in SERPS in keywords like casas de madera (google esp): Canexel: Casas de madera mucho más que casas prefabricada...
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Canexel0 -
Customer Experience vs Search Result Optimisation
Yes, I know customer experience is king, however, I have a dilema, my site has been live since June 2013 & we get good feedback on site design & easy to follow navigation, however, our rankings arent as good as they could be? For example, the following 2 pages share v similar URLs, but the pages do 2 different jobs & when you get to the site that is easy to see, but my largest Keyword "Over 50 Life Insurance" becomes difficult to target as google sees both pages and splits the results, so I think i must be losing ranking positions? http://www.over50choices.co.uk/Funeral-Planning/Over-50-Life-Insurance.aspx http://www.over50choices.co.uk/Funeral-Planning/Over-50-Life-Insurance/Compare-Over-50s-Life-Insurance.aspx The first page explains the product(s) and the 2nd is the Quote & Compare page, which generates the income. I am currently playing with meta tags, but as yet havent found the right combination! Originally the 2nd page meta tags were focussing on "compare over 50s life insurance" but google still sees "over 50 life insurance" in this phrase, so the results get split. I also had internal anchor text supporting this. What do you think is the best strategy for optimising both pages? Thanks Ash
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | AshShep10 -
My website (non-adult) is not appearing in Google search results when i have safe search settings on. How can i fix this?
Hi, I have this issue where my website does not appear in Google search results when i have the safe search settings on. If i turn the safe search settings off, my site appears no problem. I'm guessing Google is categorizing my website as adult, which it definitely is not. Has anyone had this issue before? Or does anyone know how to resolve this issue? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | CupidTeam0 -
Still Going Down In Search
After signing up to SEOmoz as a pro user and sorting out all the things that the search flagged up with our website (htyp://www.whosjack.org) we jumped very slightly in search only to continue going down again. We are a news based site, we have no dup content, we have good writers and good orangic links etc I am currently very close to having to call it a day. Can anyone suggest anything at all from looking at the site or suggest a good SEO firm that I could talk to who might be able to work out the issue as I am totally at a loss as to what do do now. Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | luwhosjack0 -
Rankings tanked after sitewide title tag changes
Hi Guys, One of our clients are a big brand but their brand is a keyword domain. After signing up to seo moz and utilising the recommended changes to the on page seo, something drastic happened. Every page of my clients site appended the site name at the end of the title tag. Example: <title>keyword | keyword 2 | domain name keyword</title> I felt, and also with seomoz reports, that having the main keyword appended to the end of every title tag was far too spammy and as seo moz suggested could possibly have different pages fighting for ranks on that phrase. We decide to remove the domain from the end on all page titles, and since google re cached the site, the rankings have tanked big time. The site is still indexed so thats good but when you consider a single lead is worth over £1000 to my client and with 20-30 leads per month, he isnt too happy. Has anyone experienced this before? My guess is google is re evaluating the rankings to reflect the new title tags, and thus put my clients site out until it's finished updating the rankings etc? Any help? Thanks
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | glasgowseoguy0