Use of '&' in meta title
-
Hi, I know that use of '&' would be helpful to save space and also add more keyword variation to the title tag. But just want to make sure if it matters if I use '&' in most of my title tags? And also is it common to use more than & in one title?
Would the following title be different in Google's perspective regardless of the title length? I am thinking they are all targeting the keywords 'fruit cake' and 'fruit bread', but the first one is the best.
buy fruit cake & bread
buy fruit cake & fruit bread
buy fruit cake and fruit bread
Thanks in advance.
-
Hi Linda,
Thanks for your answer Just wish to confirm if the first option "buy fruit cake & bread" will capture the keywords "fruit cake" and "fruit bread" as I wish to save the space for more other information in title tag.
I guess it is a balance we have to make, to be more clear or to be more concise.
Thanks for all the other answers.
-
Google uses titles as an important step in determining whether a website answers "searchers intent" - should google display that page on the SERP.
The composition of a title is far more complex than the obvious. The title has a strong SEO focus but also it has to be optimised for clickability. So there are trade-offs. An example is we have changed titles - a few words around and seen a 6 times uplift in CTR. So optimising for the customer is integral.
So the first thing to do is determine keywords - then trade off with click ability. I am not sure I would start with the word buy. A standard method is
Most Important keyword | Second most important Keyword | Brand.
Should be a nexus between the two keywords. Also the title can only be 512 pixels long before it truncates. Hence the title has limited space and two competing components clickability & SEO. Big decisions.
To answer your question, from the information at hand on the and v &. It is semantics but i agree with Linda the latter is more attractive and secondly it uses less pixels.
Let me know if need any more information.
-
Hi Russell,
I use '&' and 'and' both but in different scenario. e.g
If keyword is 'artificial plants & trees' (having significant search volume) then I will use 'artificial plants & trees' not 'artificial plants and trees' and If keyword is 'artificial plants and trees' then I will use 'artificial plants and trees' not 'artificial plants & trees'.
So first you should check keyword is with 'and' or '&' and use in title according to that. If you are using 'and' or '&' like separator then it would be better to use pipe(|) or dash (-).
Hope this helps.
Thanks
-
The first one is more ambiguous. Is it fruit cake and bread of some type, or is it fruit cake and fruit bread [the ampersand generally being a joiner]?
If you do the searches, you will see they are all somewhat similar, with the second two being obviously more related. [collinstreet.com is going to wonder about the strange impressions data in their Adwords campaign...]
An ampersand and the word "and" are mostly the same in Google & there are some who feel that a special character in a title can attract more attention & so is a good thing.
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
-
Duplicate 'meta title' issue (AMP & NON-AMP Pages)
how to fix duplicate meta title issue in amp and non-amp pages? example.com
On-Page Optimization | | 21centuryweb
example.com/amp We have set the 'meta title' in desktop version & we don't want to change the title for AMP page as we have more than 10K pages on the website. ----As per SEMRUSH Tool---- ABOUT THIS ISSUE It is a bad idea to duplicate your title tag content in your first-level header. If your page’s <title>and <h1> tags match, the latter may appear over-optimized to search engines. Also, using the same content in titles and headers means a lost opportunity to incorporate other relevant keywords for your page.</p> <p><strong>HOW TO FIX IT</strong></p> <p>Try to create different content for your <title> and <h1> tags.<br /><br />this is what they are recommending, for the above issue we have asked our team to create unique meta and post title for desktop version but what about AMP page?<br /><br />Please help!</p></title>0 -
Generating Dynamic Meta Titles for SEO - Advice?
Hi, I'm working with a new client that works with a lot of suppliers and they want to have their titles built in a specific way. If I generate a template (so to speak) will generating dynamic meta titles have a negative effect on their SEO and is this even possible? If so, what would be the best way to handle this? There is approximately 100 suppliers. Any feedback/advice is appreciated!
On-Page Optimization | | daniel-brooks0 -
Meta Titles On Site Different From Google Index Page
This is very embarrassing but I hope someone can help. The Meta Titles on my site are not being shown correctly on the Google site index. For example, when I got directly to the page the appropriate page title is shown obviously. However when I go view that page on Google, the title in completely different. Page title: <a class="attribute-value">Web Design, SEO, PPC, Mobile Development In Philadelphia, Bucks| Infinity Digital Agency</a> Google Shows: Our Services - Infinity Digital Agency Here is the result page. I am currently running WordPress and Yoast. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Awww.infinitydigitalagency.com%2Fservices%2F&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
On-Page Optimization | | infinitydigitalagency0 -
Any benefit to using HeadSpace AND All in One?
I noticed that somewhere along the line (outside developer or SEO) I ended up with HeadSpace AND All in One on one of my WP sites. There are functions that I appreciate with both and I wonder if there is any danger to completing both forms for a post or page? Is there really any benefit or just a waste of time? I keep finding articles that compare the 2, but nothing that talks about using them together. If I get rid of All in One, …. WOW. Mid question, i realized I'm a dum-dum. All in One has the same no follow options I thought I would miss from HeadSpace. So new question…if I uninstall headspace, will I lose the data/settings that it was used to set up? Jenn
On-Page Optimization | | vernonmack0 -
I am optimizing title tags and was wondering if it makes a difference if I use "commas" in between keywords that are synonyms or should I use "and" instead?
For example: "pants, trousers at pants.com" or "pants and trousers at pants.com".
On-Page Optimization | | EcomLkwd0 -
Title tag formatting
So I thought I had Title tags cracked... Unique to each page Priority phrases at the start Under 70 characters inc spaces No spamming of keyword phrase Brand at the end But do people believe that this structure is bad? <keyword 1="" phrase="">| <keyword 2="" phrase="">|<brand></brand></keyword></keyword> and that Title tags should now be structure more like full sentences? And does using the same keyword phrase on several pages dilute or cannibalize results? Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | ToonyWoony
Kate0 -
Duplicate meta descriptions
Hi all, I'm using Yoast's SEO plugin and when I run a On Page report card here on SEOMOZ it says there are 2 descriptions tags I've been trying to fix this but can't (I'm new!) Anyone any ideas on this? Thanks Elaine
On-Page Optimization | | elaineryan0 -
Page titles and descriptions
A website has several wigets to show Each wiget with its own page The wigets mostly just vary in size How would you suggest titles be done? Example: Wiget 1ft Wiget 2ft Wiget 3 ft an so on........ Would this trigger a duplicate content issue given “Wiget” leads in the page title?
On-Page Optimization | | APICDA0